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Major EXOGAL Comet/Ion problems

Five years ago I bought an Exogal Comet to use as a DAC with my Rogue Medusa amplifier. It proved itself an excellent unit in all respects and I was positively impressed with the company's support and helpfulness. A year ago I bought the matching Exogal Ion amplifier (at considerable expense) to go with the Comet and was delighted. (The Medusa was wonderful but I wanted something with a smaller footprint). 

Reviewers have invariably criticized the Comet's diminutive window for being extremely difficult to read and the cheapness of the remote control. Noting these deficiencies, the TAS reviewer Vade Forrester (June 24, 2015) wrote, "I learned the Comet is really intended to be operated remotely from an iPhone or iTouch." My experience was that the window and remote were exercises in frustration, but that the Apple application I downloaded from the Exogal site for my iPad was ideal; I had total control over the unit and the app was a delight to use--very Space Age. For the record, I liked the Comet so much I unloaded my Rogue RP 1 and used it as a preamp. 

All was well until I got a new iPad and couldn't download the application. When I called Exogal I received a somewhat garbled account that Apple was no longer permitting them to use the application. Ditto with Android. After a while they announced a remote control module was being developed and in the pipeline. They sent me an experimental prototype that in my opinion wasn't much of an improvement over the original. On the few occasions I can reach them they say it will be ready in a week but weeks have passed. This is tantamount to having a fancy TV where it is a major struggle to perform a simple action like change the channels! 

Exogal is singularly uncommunicative about this problem. Their website is scarcely used and they seem to have moved over to Facebook. The strangest thing is that on the website they list under "Products" a series of four Vortex streamers, described in detail, that apparently were never manufactured! They don't answer their emails. They say their site has been hacked and various other things. In a rare new posting on their website and Facebook they claim the they have just opened a distributorship in Europe. This raises the question how are the European purchasers going to operate their units? None of this inspires consumer confidence.  

My point here is that when someone spends 7k and above on supposedly elite components they deserve responses and explanations. It is Exogal's responsibility to ascertain that these units are operable as designed. I have to question the business sense of relying on an outside entity like Apple that is notorious for being proprietary. It is totally unbusinesslike not to make a public explanation of these issues with a timetable to correct them. Customers should not have to go foraging around Audigon forums to learn what is, or isn't, happening. 

Now the window on the Comet periodically goes blank (it was never even illuminated). Having 7k worth of Exogal equipment that is extremely difficult to operate, I went and bought a Wyred 4 Sound integrated and a Black Ice DAC so I can actually listen to something without a struggle. The Exogal stuff is in a box waiting for who knows what. I am beginning to think that Exogal is indeed out of this galaxy, but for all the wrong reasons. This is very surprising because a couple of years ago they were exemplary in all respects. I would like to hear from other frustrated owners to see what solutions they have devised. 
rtorchia
rdixey
4 posts
 

I have an ion/comet combo plus the power supplies- it is a great sound, but the remote....

 

Does anyone know what type of IR remote it is? There are plenty of high quality learning remotes on the market but I cannot get them to work with this. I was just going to program the on/off, volume +/- and mute buttons. It is the input and output selections that make the thing so difficult.

 

rdixey
4 posts
 

Hi michrt,  thanks for your rapid response! No, I have the standard IR remote- and really only use it with the ion amp and a streamer, so I have no use for the other connections. For some reason however it keeps selecting unavailable outputs, wont' boot and then one goes through the drama of finding the right combination (whilst being totally blind as we all know due to the postage stamp screen!).

I did read your posts, though I am not really technical myself- and am a mac user to boot.  Were you ever to finish it that would be great- but otherwise I am sure an IR learning remote could take away the main aggravation- too many options, too few buttons! There seem to be families of these IR remotes- some for TV/DVR and some for air conditioners and the like. Do you know what parts bin the exogal remote comes from? I can find no other images of it on line, though it is clearly a chinese generic of something- one of the buttons on it does nothing at all! There are really nice chinese aluminium bodied learning remotes now for $30- but they don't seem to be able to learn from the exogal remote for some reason.

I cannot imagine why a technical group like this made such a newbie mistake- its like a ferrari with a fiat body- but then they made one of those! Anyhow any help, at any level, would be really great. Exogal has a small but dedicated fan club, and you can see why when you listen to it. It is a great product. Sad

 

michrt's avatar
michrt
29 posts
 

@rdixey The thing is, it is NOT an IR remote. It’s a red LED at the end pretending to be an IR blaster in look only. Unless you have the pulsar add-on (a tiny acrylic box that plugs into the DAC USB port), there isn’t a single IR remote that will work by itself.

The remote and DAC use the same Bluetooth chip to communicate with each other - the difference in part number that one has an external antenna and the other an internal. Pulsar was introduced to bridge the gap, it communicates to the DAC over Bluetooth and accepts IR commands. But to reiterate - there is not a single infrared (IR) remote that will work standalone with the Exogal Comet because, does not have an IR receiver (unless you have a pre-production model but then it’s disabled in firmware).

 

I have the code finalized to reproduce the functionality of pulsar while also adding physical controls and a physical volume dial, I just haven’t dialed in the hardware I want to use with it 😅 it’s all written in micropython for the raspberry pi Pico. More a hardware guy than a software guy, so I more or less abandoned the small desktop applet I previously designed but Comet does communicate over BT serial and the serial port on the back.

 

Hopefully that clarifies a few things. TLDR: Comet CANT use ANY IR remote without Pulsar (or similar) 😔

rdixey
4 posts
 

OMG- that is crazy! So the red light on the front does nothing? All is explained!!
There was I thinking it was a line of sight remote!!

Since you cannot readily replicate bluetooth signals, I finally understand why replacing the phone app is such a priority. I will look closely to see how your project is progressing!!

In the meantime I will have to treat the existing remote with kid gloves. If I break it, the exogal is useless as far as I can see. 

 

michrt's avatar
michrt
29 posts
 

Part 1: I am putting together a mini encyclopedia of things I’ve learned testing, troubleshooting, and fixing the Exogal Comet DAC over the past few years. Below you will find a very condensed list of some fixes for the common issues I’ve come across. I hope it helps those of us still clinging to this DAC  It is worth noting that all links posted in this post are from my DropBox, containing files directly from Exogal (unless otherwise stated). Any harm, accidents, damages, etc. are entirely your own fault With that out of the way - onward!

 

​USB: Exogal said the Comet supports up to 24bit 384khz over USB. I have only gotten it to properly clock 384khz outside of Windows. Comet also doesn’t always play nicely with the default Windows drivers or the universal XMOS drivers. The official driver works well though (up to 24bit 192khz) in both WASAPI and ASIO.

 

Official Manuals and Firmware: Official Exogal Comet User Manual - https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wyot2mz0ea743d8x24sbi/CometUserManual.pdf?rlkey=5sebvybfy6gpp7h40fkrs0kcl&st=smdz6ogx&dl=0

 

Firmware/FPGA Upgrades/Downgrades: Firmware upgrades carry risk! You CAN brick your DAC! READ THE OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS PLEASE. Disclaimer that anything negative that happens is entirely your own fault

 

You will need an FTDI USB to 3.5mm Serial Cable to perform firmware changes. This is the Windows FTDI Serial Cable Driver from Exogal (a newer version might be available elsewhere) – https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/byhi3209xmcrsj5t5pqjg/Comet-Firmware-Update-FTDI-Cable-Driver.exe?rlkey=8vxxa9o2ylcammtupuq4v8m7y&st=wl97etjl&dl=0

 

The Exogal Pulsar was an optional add-on device that came later, allowing you to use IR remotes with Comet (the stock remote is NOT IR, but is Bluetooth. More on this and workarounds in Part 2). It is difficult to sync up the first time but it remembers the last Comet it connected to.

 

Pulsar Pairing/Sync/User Manual (NOTE - This manual is entirely wrong): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2h7w6w3gklm0qmexsr2fr/EXOGAL_Pulsar_IR.pdf?rlkey=77sln9u08byqfofp3w4359jbr&st=70pclit2&dl=0

 

Instead, to reset Pulsar pairing: 

  1. Unplug Pulsar. Wait 30sec.
  2. Hold Pair button down. While holding, plug in Pulsar
  3. Keep holding the Pair button until blue, red, and green lights are on. Unplug Pulsar. Wait 30sec.

To pair Pulsar with Comet (after reset):

  1. Hold Pair button and plug in Pulsar. Release after blue and red lights are on
  2. Wait for it to pair and press Power button on IR remote

I haven't seen this information combined elsewhere, but I'll be adding it to the respective threads on diyAudio and SBAF. I will put together a Part 2 that will hopefully answer your questions about remotes/DAC control 

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