Last night I was using a board with no visual plugins, but about a 60% cpu load. No crackles with dial usage, but definitely had some random cpu spikes causing a crackle/pop that I couldn’t necessarily link to any cause. For my purposes they didn’t happen frequently enough to disrupt anything significantly. I’ll keep experimenting, and hopefully post some vids soon.
Which OS version are using? Does that happen with the very last one (released yesterday, I believe)
I’m planning on taking my mod dwarf on the road in a matter of weeks. I’m really excited to use it and there’s nothing else out there with this feature set. But I must admit, I’m really nervous about potential noise problems. Even if I take isolators with me, can I be sure that it won’t let me down. I have been using another DSP fx processor for this application and never had any noise problems in different cities, but right out of the box, the dwarf is giving me enormous dsp digital noise when using unbalanced connections.
Anyone had experience of powering it up in a multiple countries?
Are ground isolators definitely enough to solve the problem?
Will a reamp box such as my Little labs Re-di mk1 isolate both the line output and the amp thru?
Thanks in advance to any electricians that can shed light
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After realizing that the Dwarf couldn’t be used as an interface, I plugged the unit into an Audient Evo 4 and clearly heard the ground hum. Tried ferrite rings, an ac conditioner, unplugging the usb cable from the dwarf, and then finally an $18 Pyle PHE300 worked. Took nearly all the ground hum out.
The only remaining issue is the crackles and pops, which I cannot live with. Like @MullarkeyBass said, any and all advice is much appreciated. The unit is so great, but the pops and crackles are really tough to swallow.
BTW, my Boss GT1000 Core never had any of these issues.
I’m curious, does the GT1000 have a grounded power adapter?
In my mind I keep thinking “no other devices I have have this problem”, then I realize “no other devices have a grounded plug”
HX Stomp isn’t grounded, Zoia isn’t grounded, Quad Cortex has similar power requirements to MOD - not sure if it’s grounded.
I wish I knew why some devices require explicit grounds and others do not.
If you teach me how to figure that out by looking at the adapter, I can definitely respond. Google yielded nothing. Thanks @jeffutter
Also wondering what the max input dBus and ohms are for the Dwarf, thinking to compare them to the GT 1000. Does anyone know?
Does the part that goes into the wall have 3 metal pins or only two?
Almost all of the effects related power supplies I have have 2 (not grounded) with the exception of dedicated multi-pedal supplies (like cioks) which are grounded.
Most Boss unit I’ve ever seen – be it center-positive or center-negative – did not have the ground pin in their power source. It is the case with my MS3 and GP10.
Their more recent PSA line of power sources has a couple or ferrite bead inductors at the end (the little plastic cocoon near the output plug) to filter RF frequencies from the power line. That helps clean some of the dirt of the power line itself and is commonly known as choke. Cars always have that because the alternator produces a lot of noise and, without it, your car stereo would have a buzz that follows engine rotation.
(In all fairness, the Roland GR units from the 80’s did.)
Precisely.
Regarding the Quad, it runs at 3 amps and uses an external source. Many users employ a Cioks supply and use several outputs in parallel so as to generate the required current (which is what I would do with my MOD if I had it in a pedalboard. Cioks units are incredibly clean, but that obviously comes at a hefty price. Their latest unit is 300 Euro.)
Welcome to the forum, @SillySovietNYC. Technical data for the MOD units is in their wiki page. It still needs a lot of work, though. If you need additional info, contact their support at support@moddevices.com.
Welcome to the forum, @MullarkeyBass. I’m not affiliated with MOD and cannot make promises as to whether or not it will perform to your heart’s content. It’s good that you plan to give it the ultimate test: put it to work on a tour!! If you end up using it on your tour, please report back.
That being said, for ground loop noise issues, an isolator – or “hum killer” as some call it – could obviously help. But I suggest you run some tests ahead of departing. First, use your dwarf as a standalone with a headset and see if there’s noise. That would tell you if your unit is faulty. (Bear in mind your own headset may be at fault too, so test it elsewhere as well.) Also, test your MOD in different power outlets or locations, so as to rule out RF noises and interference in your power outlets as well.
If it passes this test, then set the Dwarf as you would on your rig and check for noises. If suppressing the ground connection removes the hum, that means you have a ground loop issue – but do that carefully please. And by all means do not employ that technique on the road.
Then, try employing good balanced cables and avoid very long cables in either direction. Be warned that some “top” cables sold in music stores are actually very poor quality. Sorry, I won’t name names here.
I couldn’t locate enough tech infom about that unit, but it does have an earth/ground lift switch, so it breaks the ground loop for sure. Now, reamping means taking a balanced signal back to unbalanced, so you need to evaluate exactly if you need that. I don’t own a Dwarf, but if you connect a balanced output to a line level/unbalanced input – such as a guitar/bass amp, then it will certainly help.
The Re-DI seems to have plenty of input/output options, so I would give that a try. It helps if you describe your setup in more detail – that is, what is connected to what and in what sequence.
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Only 2 pins, so not grounded. Makes me sad to think I may have gotten a defective Dwarf…
After realizing that the Dwarf couldn’t be used as an interface
Why not? → Audio Through USB - MOD Wiki
Oh nooooooo!!! That’s what I did initially, then figured maybe a separate audio interface would do the trick. I’ve spent way too much time with the Dwarf’s input and output gain knobs on the unit and then separately with the effects in the interface trying to get the pops and crackles down, having mostly solved the ground hum with the Pyle hum destroyer.
Honestly I’ve owned multiple devices like the Dwarf and have never had to do this much tweaking. I just love the Dwarf interface and effects options so much, I figure I’ll give it more time to hopefully work things out.
On the other hand, if I’ve got a defective unit, then no amount of my time is worth it. I’ll email support and see what they say. I’d love to celebrate this device given its potential. Thanks @QuestionMarc .
@dreamer Thank you – I tried both options and couldn’t get the latency where I wanted nor the crackles/pops/hum solved at the same time. Figured I’d spend the time on the latter, as anyway I wanted a separate audio interface for both line and microphone (XLR) recording capabilities. I might come back to this at a later time, just need the sound pollution gone first. Thanks again.
It would be great if we can figure out some better diagnostics for this (seemingly prevalent) issue of noise.
If we can categorize the different setups and find a way to replicate certain misbehavior. I don’t have a Dwarf yet and I haven’t used my DuoX with an amped/PA setup yet, only in the studio.
Will be a few months before I can chime in with some practical experience on this one.
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Unfortunately this isn’t really practical. The Cioks DC7 (one of the newer models) supplies 12v at 500ma. It would take 6 out of the 7 outputs from the cioks together in parallel to provide the 12v 3a that the Dwarf requires. I do imagine this would remove the noise though 
This is another bummer for me with the Dwarf. If I mount it on my pedal board I’m still stuck running separate AC power for it. There are some power supplies like the Walrus audio ones that have an AC plug on them. I don’t think the power to it is conditioned in any way though.
This is still in development to be stable (and not experimental), but sooner or later it will come.
Regarding the noise issues, have you guys (those facing noise issues) updated your Dwarf and tried the new ground loop compensation feature? It would be awesome if you can share your results
Yup, tried it last night. Since I had put in a hum killer between the Dwarf and the interface already, this feature did nothing noticeable for me. Hope that helps.
Well, it’s expensive for sure! It’s one of those solutions we would employ in a perfect world – and I would do that. Cioks 12 outs PSU is so nice that they even have a 15V port for Radial Tonebone users. 
Now you mention the Quad Cortex in your post, and it needs indeed 3A, but does the Dwarf require that much? The Duo X has two displays, one more processor and many more lights and requires only 2A. I’d guess the Dwarf would at most require 2A as well.
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