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Majestic DAC / Linux

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jwatson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2016 at 5:19am
Hello All,

I can happily confirm the earlier feedback regarding using the Majestic with Linux.  I'm running Fedora 25 (kernel version 4.8.8) and my Majestic (received yesterday) was immediately recognised.  Unlike my other DACs which require plugging in prior to powering up the machine (or restarting the pulseaudio deamon), the Majestic can be plugged in at any time and is recognised. It really is plug and play but for anyone interested here are a few steps to get it running on a Gnome desktop.
  1. Plug in the Majestic.
  2. Open the sound configuration panel.
  3. You should see at least two devices available, the Majestic along with any other devices available on the machine.  The Majestic is identified by the descriptor 'PCM2902 Audio Codec'.  (The broadwell device in the screnshot below is my laptop's built in soundcard.)
  4. Note: In the limited amount of testing I've performed to date, the Majestic shows up everytime it's plugged in.  However, in the event that it's not being listed as an output device; either restart the machine with the Majestic connected or restart Pulseaudio by opening a terminal window and entering the command 'pulseaudio -k'.
  5. Select the 'Digital Output (S/PDIF) - PCM2902 Audio Codec' output device.
  6. Check that the Output Volume is set no higher than 100%.
  7. You may wish to perform a quick 'Test Speakers' at this stage to double check that everything's setup correctly and the audio cables are the right way round.  (Make sure the Majestic's 'Digital Mute' switch is in the UP position...)
  8. Follow the advice in the Majestic's manual and disable system notifications / sound effects in the 'Sound Effects' Tab.


All being well, close the window and start up a music player.  FLAC support is built in to virtually every Linux distribution so you should be able to start up a music player and enjoy high quality music right away.

Most distributions are set up for 48/44.1 audio by default.  If required, this can be set to support 24bit by changing the file /etc/pulse/daemon.conf, modifying the line 

; default-sample-format = s16le

to read;

default-sample-format = s24le

If this will involve much resampling during playback, you may wish to adjust the sample quality by changing the line 

; resample-method = speex-float-1

to read;

resample-method = src-sinc-medium-quality

I've not tried this on my Majestic yet as most of my Music is 16/44.1.  Be aware that this will increase the CPU load (although on my average build laptop I've never noticed any adverse effects).

Initial impressions of the DAC are very good.  Audio quality aside, the only difference between this DAC and my other units is a slight clicking when starting new tracks in my music player (Lollypop).  This is addressed in the manual but to be honest the sound is not dissimilar to a needle touching down on vinyl so I feel no need to engage the Digital Mute.  (To clarify, the clicking is only present when selecting a new track/album in my player - nothing is heard between tracks when playing them in order on an album, only activity that triggers a discontinuity in the data stream.)

Hope this helps.

James

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