VanityPRO FAQ

[egradyh]

Pavel,

I've had my VP since February and have been plagued by high rez dropouts from day one. I was a little concerned, when I saw in the owners manual, that some DAC's can be prone to dropouts with the VP. I've been told that my Berkeley Alpha DAC 3 shouldn't be an issue. Still, the dropouts continue. Recently I had one with a CD from my Oppo 203, the first one I've had that wasn't a high rez signal The dropouts are random, I can go hours without one or get multiple in a few minutes. With my GeerFab I never had any dropouts.

I've been told you are aware of this problem and that a fix is in the works. Still, I have two concerns. First, I haven't seen any comments from other owners that they're having this problem. Are they? Could the Berkeley/VP combo simply be incompatible? Second, I've been told the fix will be available in a few days. I've been told that for almost two months. Is the fix being elusive?

Finally, any idea why the display on my Berkeley occasionally shows 95.9 instead of 96 when the source is 24/96? I can eject the disc, hit play and it will then show 96. It's really odd.

[AP]

Hi egradyh,
Thank you for your post. We are aware of the dropouts you have been having with your Berkeley Alpha through JVB. The DAC should not be susceptible to small frequency variations of the VanityPRO. I haven't heard about any other VanitPRO user with the Berkeley DAC, but we would only hear from those requiring some assistance. What is a little bit suspicious in your case is the irregularity of the dropouts, which does not help to identify the root cause. The improvements in the new firmware will either solve your problem or help us to better diagnose where the dropouts are coming from.
The new firmware uses larger buffer and smaller frequency steps, so even most ESS DACs should be ok now. The development took a little longer than expected because of some other improvements and tweaks, apologies for that. Now we are just testing the firmware loader on various configurations and Windows versions to make sure the software upgrade is a smooth process.
Thank you for your patience.
Why your DAC indicates 95.9kHz is hard to explain, because I have no knowledge how the DAC measures the incoming sampling frequency. The way the VanityPRO synchronizes with the incoming HDMI stream cannot explain over 1000ppm error in frequency measurement. Maybe it would be a good idea to raise that questions with Berkeley. There might be a little chance that this related to the dropouts and their irregularity.
You will hear from JVB with regards to the new firmware very soon. Thanks again.

Best Regards,
Pavel

[egradyh]

Pavel,

Do you think there is any chance my VP has a glitch? If I am the only VP owner, regardless of the type of DAC, having high rez drop outs, then maybe I should try a second VP?

[AP]

Hi Egradyh,
Although nothing can be ruled out I would say it is unlikely that there is anything wrong with the VanityPRO itself. On the other hand, feel free to get in touch with JVB if you wish to try a second unit. We have the beta of the new firmware with our field tester, if everything is ok you can expect to have the new firmware in a day or two. So maybe it would be worth to try the new firmware first.
Best Regards,
Pavel

[egradyh]

Ok, I'll wait for the FW update.

[Ozymandias]

Hi Pavel,
For those of us Mac users who won’t have firmware update capability in the short-term, when the updated firmware is released will there be units available for purchase that will ship with the updated firmware?

[AP]

Hi Ozymandias,
All units sold after the firmware update release will naturally have the latest version installed. We have the release candidate in field with a few testers and so far no issues found. If you are waiting with your purchase for the new firmware release, please get in touch with JVB so you can get a notification as soon as the units with the new fw are ready.
Best Regards,
Pavel

[Ozymandias]

Thanks Pavel! Yes, I’ve been waiting . I’ll reach out to JVB as you recommended.

[Ecess]

Hi Pavel.
I have a problem. Yesterday the Vanity Pro wont boot. It is always going to a screen : Device Status with a flashing red led.
It says reboot the device.
I tried different reboot with and without audio power. Nothing change, I always get the Device status screen of which I cannot get out without un plugging the power supply.
Could you help me ?

[AP]

Hi Ecess,
I have replied to your PM. Once we identify the issue we can post an update here.
Regards,
Pavel