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Geek Pulse XFI once again has power issues
Thomas Horner
Yesterday our power was cut off while a transformer outside was replaced (with no warning).  This of course meant that the Geek lost power.   Fearing the worse I checked it out last night, and all seemed well - played music right away from my JRiver software for about 30 minutes.  I switched to another album, and suddenly no music.  The JRiver "meter" that shows how long song is and how much remains stays at 0 seconds out of (for example) 3 minutes - the song never really starts playing, almost like some kind of handshake between the Geek and the PC does not happen.

The PC shows the Geek as the audio output device.  I rebooted the PC and while it was off turned the Geek off and on using the back switch.  I did this about four times.  On the third try I barely heard music (heavily muted), but  I switched to a new song, and no sound at all.  I gave up after the fourth try (it was getting late).

When folks have "fixed" this issue with power (including me last year), I read "turn it on and off several times".  First question is should I do this with the computer up and running?  I forgot if I left the computer up when I did this last year.  I will be checking and experimenting further this evening, but any further advice is welcome. 

FYI: I am using a custom power supply built by Sam, but it seems OK.
Matt Williamson
One thing that has helped me in the past with various issues is while the PC and the Geek are on, unplug the USB cable and plug it back in (make sure your speakers are off when you do this as it can cause a pop). You should see the PC recognize it and may even see the driver being installed again.

Also, be sure to check the "volume setting" menu inside the Geek and confirm you are controlling the volume the way you should be. I would switch it to knob and try to turn the volume up on the Geek to see if that solves it.

Finally, I have stopped using the ASIO driver with the Geek. It crashes a lot and is just generally not stable for me. I use the WASAPI driver and have had no issues. Check in JRiver to see which one you are using and maybe try switching to the other to see if that helps. If you end up using the WASAPI driver make sure to set it to use "exclusive mode", otherwise you may not get full resolution when playing back DSD or high rez content.
John Morrison
Matt,

All good suggestions. I have not heard about problems with the ASIO driver. I have been using it with my Pulse FI and have not experienced any problems. My understanding is the the ASIO driver is preferred. Anyone else have any thoughts on this.
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