I haven’t checked lately, but I thought it was fixed last December or so. I agree with you about messaging Jaehong. Make it short, short paragraphs and as simple English as possible.
Oppomod I2S card update:
Ok, I figured out why I don’t get I2S output when SW1 is set to EXT -FB2 has already been removed from my card (as delivered). @vee was correct, when set to EXT the card is powered by the DS Dac! So removing FB2 or blocking pin 18 is probably the best way to configure the card.
I can not say if Jaehong lied about the DSD channel reversal being handled in firmware, but after testing this weekend I can say that DSD definitely is channel reversed on the card I have.
Thank you for your suggestions @highstream. I am communicating with short, easy english phrases -no sentences, or god forbid, paragraphs. I’m am pretty sure all this is not due to miscommunication.
The saga continues.
@fdreed Some questions:
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Shep in post 245 (Dec) reported that the channel reversal problem had been fixed. I found the same. Is your card pre or post that time?
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Your post implies that setting power to Ext doesn’t fully accomplish that; pin 18 or FB42 also have to be dealt with. What about those of us with Ext working without doing anything else?
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What prompted the last comment about communicating?
It appears that the I2S not-working problem I recently posted about has been caused by an HDMI cable connection being lost, seemingly on the DS side. It’s not obvious why, since pushing on the cable doesn’t show any looseness on either end. That makes me wonder if it’s either something tenuous in the cable connector or the dac’s, or something electronic in the DS.
That is exactly what I figured.
Who was it who reported that the DSD channel switching has actually been fixed? Because I’m not buying this story until I see some confirmation as to it being true. This would have required the manufacturing a brand-new I2S board. But I’m doubting very much that this board has changed at all without some proof that a new version of this board exists.
FWIW I just recently (< 1 month) purchased a fully modified 203 from Jaehong and the channels are not reversed when using i2s via HDMI. He asked me what DAC I was going to use during the purchase discussion and I told him PSA DS and I specifically asked about the channels being reversed. He said that issue had been fixed but did not say when. He also said that all of the correct software switches had been set for best i2s playback when I asked him whether I should connect it to a video display to do a setup.
See the post I mentioned above. I think the one I ended up with was to, since I noted it at the time and haven’t thought about it since.
My card is supposed to be brand new (as of July 2019), so I expected the channel reversal problem to be fixed -it is not.
A fully functioning card should work fine on EXT. But, in this situation there are a couple of theoretical disadvantages: 1) The card is powered by the DAC, possibly taxing its power supply and allowing noise contamination. 2) The HDMI cable is now also a power cable with possible interference. I suspect this may be why some find the WireWorld cables so beneficial as they isolate the power lines.
Your post #302
Jaehong himself. As of this morning, he is sending a new card…
I’d like to hear Ted’s thoughts on power source and noise issues.
Not post 302.
I also purchased the fully modded 203 < month. The channel reversal issue being discussed is with DSD only, regular CD playback works fine. Did you test an SACD? It seems like such a minor issue, but orchestral music and recordings I listen to a lot are very disconcerting when played backwards!
The software settings of the 203 were all default on mine… in your case it is probably worth checking and making sure the settings are as posted earlier in the thread.
It would be interesting to know what your switch settings are (esp. SW1), and if your FB2 has been removed, but I don’t really expect you to pop open the unit just for that.
Ok, your post closest to #300…
Got it. I was agreeing not criticizing,
@fdreed I do have some SACD’s and have not played any yet. It may be a few weeks before I can do so. If I can remember (?) I will test and let you know. I will also try to take a look at the other questions and respond.
But my fully modded Oppo 205 (DAC) actually sounds better than what my DSJ (with Snowmass) did, so maybe that is the reason the I2S is not implemented in the 205. But still I would have liked the ability to pass DSD via I2S on the 205.
Delayed reply: my card from last December has the violins on the left, as they should be, whether playing DSD or other files.
Thx. I suspect I had an old card installed in my fully modded 203… I believe Jaehong is getting a new shipment around 8–15 and has promised me a new one. Other than that one issue it is actually working well.
Note: There is something weird about this entire deal as the “factory” installation of the card was pretty shoddy where the HDMI connector hole is cut out -it will require some field repair.
Correct. I thinking he’s obviously really good at electronics fabrication but not so handy at sheet metal fabrication. As long as the first skill is as good as it is I can live with the other being a little rough.
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While waiting for a new I2S card from Oppomod, and after about a week of burn in, I have finally had the chance to do some comparative listening. I will note that I am using some fiber optic galvanic isolation on my Ethernet feed.
At this point, the Oppo CD transport is essentially the equivalent of my Sony SCD-777ES transport (over coax) -which is great as far as I am concerned.
For streaming, both the Oppo and the Bridge II pass the bitperfect test, but the best sound is still the Bridge II. I am using a generic 6 foot HDMI cable and suspect this is likely the issue. I seems to me that for this use, the shortest manageable HDMI cable would be preferred. Any suggestions for reasonably priced cables to try? How about unreasonably priced?
The Pangea Premier HDMI are really good for the money. I haven’t joined the $1000 Wireworld club and may not for some time.
Wouldn’t have to even come close. I found the Purist Audio HDMI for $200/1m to be more enjoyable than the well regarded I2S-12, which is similar to some of the better Audioquest/Wireworld cables. I haven’t heard the Pangea Premier, but given other $29 and $99 Pangea cables I heard a few years back, I wouldn’t be surprised if one can do a whole lot better for the price of the PAD. That’s speaking audio. For video, the Audioquest Carbon, which can be found used at around $70/1m, is their top of the line video cable (per Audioquest) and better than other more or less expensive HDMI’s I’ve used.