Audio Swans D1080-iv low output from 3.5mm jack

H

Him

Disciple
I bought Swans D1080-iv after reading all the good reviews but I am facing a problem. If I drive the speakers through 3.5 mm port of my Laptop/Mobile/TV the sound output is low but if I drive them through the audio out port of my TV which uses RCA connector the output is high. Why this is happening ? How can I increase the sound output from the 3.5 mm port ?
 
Him! I also want to buy the Swan D1080-IV. I am taking time. How do you like the sound of these speakers? Did you try contacting swan or the place where you bought the speakers. First let them know about the problem, see what they say.
 
Endorush said:
Him! I also want to buy the Swan D1080-IV. I am taking time. How do you like the sound of these speakers? Did you try contacting swan or the place where you bought the speakers. First let them know about the problem, see what they say.
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Its not problem of the speakers. Its the line output level from the device that is the source of problem here.

See this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level
Connecting a low-impedance load such as a loudspeaker (usually 4 to 8 Ω) to a line out will essentially short circuit the output circuit. Such loads are around 1/1000 the impedance a line out is designed to drive, so the line out is usually not designed to source the current that would be drawn by a 4 to 8 ohm load at normal line out signal voltages. The result will be very weak sound from the speaker and possibly a damaged line out circuit.

Headphone outputs and line outputs are sometimes confused. Different make and model headphones have widely varying impedances, from as little as 20 Ω to a few hundred ohms; the lowest of these will have results similar to a speaker, while the highest may work acceptably if the line out impedance is low enough and the headphones are sensitive enough.
Conversely, a headphone output generally has a source impedance of only a few ohms (to provide a bridging connection with 32 ohm headphones) and will easily drive a line input.
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6pack said:
Use a portable DAC which has gain in it like Fiio Q1.
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This DAC comes with a non removable battery so if the battery dies can I still use it from the usb ?

Endorush said:
Him! I also want to buy the Swan D1080-IV. I am taking time. How do you like the sound of these speakers? Did you try contacting swan or the place where you bought the speakers. First let them know about the problem, see what they say.
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I am no audiophile but I am enjoying the sound quality.
 
6pack said:
Its not problem of the speakers. Its the line output level from the device that is the source of problem here.
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Please excuse my ignorance on technical terms. I believe it is an active speaker and has the required amplifier inside it to amplify the sound. But you said right the output level from the source do matter. So i think i have to invest more money on Dac along with D1080-IV.

Him said:
I am no audiophile but I am enjoying the sound quality.
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How is the bass response? Do you miss it or it's adequate.
 
6pack said:
The battery is a lipo battery I think. You can simultaneously charge and use it too. I have the same one.
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Can I run this DAC with only usb power and set it to use no battery power at all ? I will be primarily using it with my laptop so the battery won't benifit me in any way. Does it turn on and off with your pc or you have to do it separately ?

Endorush said:
How is the bass response? Do you miss it or it's adequate.
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Bass response is average if I increase it with the knob in the speaker everything starts to sound a little muddy so i left it at 0. On some tracks I do miss the oomph.
 
Him said:
Can I run this DAC with only usb power and set it to use no battery power at all ? I will be primarily using it with my laptop so the battery won't benifit me in any way. Does it turn on and off with your pc or you have to do it separately ?
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No to both questions. This is a portable DAC. The PC will not recognize it if it is turned off. Turning it on will use the inbuilt battery. The volume knob on this doubles as the on off knob too, so turning off the PC will not turn the dac off. This device is not for your usage scenario I guess.

For your usage scenario, I think there are other USB DACs available that run only through USB power. Just wait for other members to join in the discussion.
 
To Thread Owner, Get a Fiio E10k which is Portable Headphone Amp + DAC and don't have any in-built battery - Battery requirements for portable usage. Connect your speaker's audio jack E10k's back 'Line Out' port and you are good to go.

If your source have 'Coax Out' or 'SPDIF Out' you can choose Fiio D03k which is a very good DAC as the priced it offered (though sadly no 'USB In' here) - as your primary requirements providing clean audio signal to Swan Swan D1080-IV and you don't need AMP part .

Any how in both cases you don't need to worry about Battery Charging / Degradation....and I'm sure your speakers sounds definitely better with either of these.
 
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Thank you guys for the valuable inputs. So it seems Fiio E10K will be more appropriate for my usage, however it is currently out of stock everywhere. Is there a refresh coming ?
 
Get any decent usb dac if you cant find the fiio. I've been using my Nuforce uDAC for years now and it manages to get louder and better-detailed output on speakers even though it is a primarily a headphone dac. The uDAC-3 has gotten some hate for having a coloured output and that series is probably not idea for you but just google around and you will find a lot of threads for dacs that pair well with the d1080.
 
chiron said:
Get any decent usb dac if you cant find the fiio. I've been using my Nuforce uDAC for years now and it manages to get louder and better-detailed output on speakers even though it is a primarily a headphone dac. The uDAC-3 has gotten some hate for having a coloured output and that series is probably not idea for you but just google around and you will find a lot of threads for dacs that pair well with the d1080.
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Hi, searched a lot for a good DAC costing around 5-6K but couldn't find anything except Fiio. Am I missing something ? Do you have something in mind ?
 
I have recently bought the SWAN D-10080iv and using it with FiiO 10K. The sound quality is excellent and the you will definitely not miss the bass. My room size is 12x10 and it these perform better than my expectation.

Also regarding the low volume. My setting are, windows volume at max, bass and treble on the speaker at 0 and speaker volume knob at 50. for music or video I adjust the volume through the specific application. Better would have been if you have the application volume at max and adjust the speaker volume but I am lazy :). Also using wireless keyboard and mice from a distance of 10ft. So u can guess.

Coming back to the point. Did you try a different cable 3.5mm to RCA........I am not using the one that came with the package, instead had a belkin 3.5mm to RCA gold plated(don't know if it matters) lying around, so using it. But initially test it with the provided cable....had no problem but the belkin one seems to give a better output. Just my opinion.
And use a DAC to justify these speakers.
 
john_tigga said:
I have recently bought the SWAN D-10080iv and using it with FiiO 10K. The sound quality is excellent and the you will definitely not miss the bass. My room size is 12x10 and it these perform better than my expectation.

Also regarding the low volume. My setting are, windows volume at max, bass and treble on the speaker at 0 and speaker volume knob at 50. for music or video I adjust the volume through the specific application. Better would have been if you have the application volume at max and adjust the speaker volume but I am lazy :). Also using wireless keyboard and mice from a distance of 10ft. So u can guess.

Coming back to the point. Did you try a different cable 3.5mm to RCA........I am not using the one that came with the package, instead had a belkin 3.5mm to RCA gold plated(don't know if it matters) lying around, so using it. But initially test it with the provided cable....had no problem but the belkin one seems to give a better output. Just my opinion.
And use a DAC to justify these speakers.
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My speakers are also placed at 10-11 ft distance from my laptop. I am using a gold plated 3.5mm to rca cable from bluerigger. My speaker volume level is at 80 and everything on windows are at max. I will get a Fiio E10k ASAP. Btw do you notice any volume drop if you drive them through your onboard sound card ? Which port you are using on the DAC to connect your speakers ?
 
Haven't used these with the onboard audio, so no idea. It is connected to the line/speaker out of the DAC. One more thing....Does the low volume problem also happens with the cable provided in package. Just to rule out cable problem. Also does changing the connecting cable for the speaker ( the thick one), or just swapping left to right and vice versa, help.
 
john_tigga said:
Haven't used these with the onboard audio, so no idea. It is connected to the line/speaker out of the DAC. One more thing....Does the low volume problem also happens with the cable provided in package. Just to rule out cable problem. Also does changing the connecting cable for the speaker ( the thick one), or just swapping left to right and vice versa, help.
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The same thing happens with the stock cable too. Swapping the speaker cable does not help. The last thing that is left to try is the DAC, if that too doesn't increase sound output then I'll just have to run the speakers at 80% volume all the time.
 
these speakers are quite loud for their size. i can't go past half way mark on volume pot for long listening sessions. looks like it is the source level issue - get a different DAC. you don't have to go for costly DACs if you're looking for just a bump in the volume. check with some cheap usb sound cards [or used Creative ones] to begin with.
 
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