I recently bought a HiFi Link, and I'm having a frustrating problem with its
operation.

After more than a few seconds of silence, it takes about 1/2 second for the
HiFi Link to "start up" and begin outputting audio. The first half second
of any content is missed. This means, among other things, that one misses
all the bleeps and bloops that the Windows OS makes in normal operation, as
well as the first 1/2 second of the first track of music that's played in
any particular session.

I've tried the HiFi Link on two PCs - a laptop and a desktop. Both PCs
leave their USB ports powered all the time (determined by actual voltage
measurement). The problem exists on both computers. I also have a PRO
HiFi-Link (which uses a different USB controller IC). The Pro HiFi Link
does not exhibit the sound startup problem on either PC.

Efforts to get any useful information from Xitel tech support were, of
course, unsuccessful. Inapplicable boilerplate and an implied denial that
the problem exists were all that was forthcoming from them.

So, this post serves two purposes:
(a) To ask if anyone has a possible solution to this problem.
(b) To serve as a Usenet record of this problem to warn others who may be
considering purchase of this device.

John Pelham
Antique Radio Web Site http://www.radiophile.com