External DAC/amp issue with Music app

[ThisBougieLife]

This is a very niche problem, but I posted about it on audio forums and wasn't able to get any answers. I'm wondering if those of you who use external DACs, especially those with ESS Sabre DAC chips could test this.

Here is my setup:

-The issue has been occurring with my 2021 16" MacBook Pro with M1 Max chip. I have the latest MacOS version. I have not been able to test any other Macs.
-The issue occurred with two DAC/amps: The Fiio Q7 (returned it so can no longer test) and Schiit Asgard 3 with DAC card (still have it--still having the issue).
-Both of these DAC/amps use ESS Sabre DAC chips. I have no idea if that is part of the problem, but it doesn't happen with my iFi Zen DAC, which uses a Burr Brown chip.
-The issue happens only with Apple's native Music app, not with the Qobuz app or Roon.

This is the issue:

With both the Fiio Q7 and the Schiit Asgard, if I plug in these DACs while the Music app is already open, then play a track with the Music app, the track is extremely distorted: it either plays at an incredibly low speed or a high speed or it otherwise sounds very noticeably wrong. Exiting the Music app and reopening it solves the issue.

Does anyone else have this issue or can think of what may be causing it? It is part of the reason I returned the Q7 even though it was an otherwise excellent portable DAC/amp.

 

[olavsu1]

this happen when you are playing wrong bitrate songs
look from your audio-midi setup what is the bitrate for these dac's.
set it be same as your mediafiles bitrate.

 

[ThisBougieLife]

Everything I play with the Music app is 16/44. I don't have any high bitrate songs in the Music Library. I only play high bitrate on Roon and it automatically changes the bitrate when the tracks have a higher bitrate (evidenced by the lights changing on the DAC to reflect that, at least with the Q7).

In the Audio-MIDI setup, the default 16/44 is selected.

Could it be that the setting is changed after using Roon to play high bitrate songs and that's the problem? But why would exiting the Music app and restarting it fix it...unless that resets the bitrate setting?

 

[olavsu1]

16/44 is not good. 24/48 is better. I myself have the settings (24bit, 48 kHz). dac is cirrus logic and no problems.

 

[mikehalloran]

ESS Sabre DAC chips

dac is cirrus logic

Since late 2019, same thing. Shhhh... Don't tell anyone. It's supposed to be a secret.

 

[olavsu1]

I guess it's not quite the same thing. I don't want to believe that the same chip is put in the rackable sound card as in consumer electronics.