Is this the right Hermes? It actually cost less than my Matrix Farad combo.
I just ordered a Gaia in silver. Vinshine prices are going up more than 10% in a few days and with my Matrix dying a dishonourable death, it was time for a replacement. The Gaia was a little more than the Hermes and it should have features that may give me more flexibility with other DACâs.
Please donât try it.
Please.
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I am waiting as well to get my (black) Gaia to swap for my Matrixđ
Yes. Thatâs why I think itâs a great deal.
The Gaia is an upgrade from the Hermes and works with the DS. Set I2s to Mode 2 (96K LED on). The Gaia has upgraded clocks and an all aluminum case. It also comes in silver or black instead of just black like the Hermes.
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I picked up a Gaia about a week ago and set it to Mode 2 to work with my DS (as I had seen suggested in this thread). It quickly was apparent something was wrong as there was a loud, constant static sound when playing music. After looking at the PS Audio I2s pin layout and comparing it to what is shown in the Gaia manual, it appeared Mode 0 was the correct option. After switching to Mode 0, everything worked as expected. I wonder why we are getting different results?
Mode 0 will work however if you play 1 bit DSD files the Left and Right channels will be reversed.
Here is a link to some test tracks to help setup the correct mode. It has alternating tracks of PCM and DSD files for both L/R and phase. I went through all modes and mode 2 works perfectly on my Hermes to Directstream DAC.
Thanks for the link! I will run the DSD files through it to see if the channels are reversed as you suspect.
Let us know what the results are.
Both the channel and phase tests passed under Mode 0. I then tried using Mode 2 and ran the same tests. PCM was fine, but the DSD channel test was filled with static. I compared the pin layout diagrams for the Hermes and the Gaia as shown in each manual and they were the same. Given we are both using a DS, I suspected I may have an issue with my cable. I tested using three different HDMI cables (by two different manufacturers) and the test results were the same.
There must be a pin difference somewhere. Mine works perfect with all HDMI cables on mode 2 and did not on mode 0 or any other. Weird. Maybe PS audio changed pin configurations from early units??? I did see a lot of different pin configurations for the DS online. At least Denafrips covered all pin assignments.
Lucky you,
I ordered the Gaia on December 3rd but got no sending message till now
Today I got my sending informationđ
I received the Gaia yesterday. Exemplary service from both Vinshine/Denafrips and DHL. Unfortunately for me, my problem isnât caused by a failed Matrix or solved by a Gaia. Thereâs something off in my ROON ROCK server and it passes DSD music blended with white noise. The ROON forum isnât much help as they think if DoP works, then whatâs the problem. Well it wonât pass a native DSD signal, thatâs the problem.
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Well when you get the server ironed out. Please share which DDC you like better the Matrix or Denafrips. Sorry you ran into issues.
Iâm updating a notebook an Iâll run Widows and ROON server later today to circumvent the ROCK server.
This isnât the best solution but it will do for now. Iâve loaded ROON server on a Notebook that wasnât being used. Itâs playing flawlessly. The problem was ROON rock. Some software change internally must have affected DSD file playback. The Gaia on setting 2 for I2S is working perfectly. I need to rethink my system. Unfortunately PS Audio doesnât have a release of their endpoint soon and I may have to go elsewhere.
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