Most I2S sources don’t need power from the destination (and few provide power for the destination). Blocking the power won’t hurt.
@fdreed - You didn’t specific the I2S source. When I used the card off eBay, resting between the Oppo and the DS, I also taped over pin 18 on the source end. But with the Oppomod card and the change to external source yesterday, I’ve found the I2S sound noticeably improved over internal.
The I2S source is an Oppomod 203 (which is, at this moment, somewhere over the Pacific). I’ve read the threads and I’m just trying to understand as much as I can before it arrives.
Thanks.
Thanks, Ted.
Specifically, does the DSSnr provide 5v on pin 18?
Yes the DS Sr and DS Jr provide 5V on pin 18. If you are handy with a soldering iron you could remove the surface mount poly fuse to disable it.
I have received my Oppomod 203 and everything seems to be working into the DS Sr I2S input with SW1 on Int (2-3). If I change the switch to Ext (1-2) I get no output. Is there anything special I need to do when changing this switch?
I have emailed Jaehong, but that’s a slow turn around.
@vee Have you removed FB2 yet?
Check the other two settings — 203 and PS. Also make sure the HDMI cable is fully seated, especially on the DS end, which I’ve had occasional problem with.
Yeah, the other two are on 2-3 (203 and PS Audio) and the cable works when SW1 is on 2-3…
A few posts back you’ll see that I had a similar problem, plus also when I switched from int to ext that I didn’t post about. I’m still not sure about it all. I haven’t even been able to recreate what I ended up claiming the problem was. But one thing I realized is that every time I mess with the card it’s affecting the cable connection on both ends, and that checking by pushing on the cable connector end is not necessarily enough; full reseating may be needed.
@fdreed I have removed FB2. It won’t send audio when set to EXT PWR with FB2 removed because power is no longer coming from the DSD (nor going to the DSD). My jumper settings for the 203 are all on 2-3 at this time.
What did Jaehong say? Is another board on the way? He sent me two more to find one that worked correctly, without having to return the bad one first.
I have three of his boards. One of the boards is the same rev as my original and the other seems older (missing the L/R channel swap jumper). They all stream the bits out to the DSD, but I haven’t gotten to the bottom of the high pitched whine issue yet. It only happens on power-on before I drop a CD/SACD in the Oppo.
Right now, I’m using my original board w/FB2 removed. I did that to prevent the DSD from sending power into the Oppo and vice-versa. Before I removed FB2, the board was actually able to be powered on by the DSD… evidenced by the music still playing when EXT PWR (1-2) was selected.
In all cases, the whine completely goes away and background is dead silent when I pop in a CD, so it’s not a show stopper. I was most concerned about the Oppo providing enough phantom power to the DSD when it was switched off to cause it to try to boot.
Jaehong is still looking into the whine issue. I haven’t pressed because I’ve been so busy with life/work/etc.
Zero issues with my Oppomod board, unfortunately seems you have a bad 'un.
Jaehong is brilliant with Customer Service in my experience.
1 Like
Is there a new version of this board which fixes the DSD channel swapping? Mine definitely swaps the left and right channels for SACDs.
Have you confirmed this (set to EXT and tested after FB2 removed? I ask because Jaehong specifically told me the I2S Card is powered by the Oppo power supply when set to EXT. According to him the switch just determines if pin 18 has 5v or not.
If what you say is correct, removing FB2 should be the best option for I2S DACs that supply 5v on pin 18 so the DAC power supply is not “taxed” powering the card.
Well this is curious. I saw your post and mentioned to Jaehong that I didn’t have L/R jumper on my brand new card. He said the situation is handled in firmware for PS Audio DACs… hmmmm
I think I’m in the sweep it under the rug phase…
At first he said just use INT, it will probably be ok. Before I could answer, he emailed back suggesting I use INT and remove FB2.
I’m investigating all the options before I push back -I’m not sure I want the hassle of getting a new card yet. My EXT doesn’t work. This is likely a bad SW1 or a blown FB2. The later would actually be fine. Otherwise, fixing the switch and/or removing FB2 are probably easy. Finally, acquiring a Pin 18 blocker might be best… I’m thinking on it.
Note: I think putting the switch on EXT may not be the optimum solution if the card then draws current or otherwise interacts with the DS DAC.
From my experience with this board, this sounds incorrect. Whenever I have tried to communicate with him it is clear that he is using something like google translate, because we clearly are not understanding each other.
So I would not place too much stock on specific language when communicating with him. The details always get lost in translation it seems.
Do your cards actually have switches? Mine only has jumpers.
Yeah, jumpers, but they are labeled SW1, 2, 3… so I apparently say “switch” sometimes.