Where did you get that board and how much is it?
Check post 130. The last photo is the one others of us have purchased, but I don’t know if there’s any difference between the boards showing. If you want, ask who the manufacturer is of the different ones. You should read through the thread. Much of it from earlier this year was dropped during the changeover of forum design, but there’s a lot there. If you’re planning to use it with an Oppo, note that you’ll either need to tape pin 15 or de-solder point 47 on the board. The other thing is that with SACD and DSD files, the channels reverse. Feel free to ask questions here or pm any of us.
I bought at powerproaudio at this link https://www.ebay.it/itm/332452803371?ul_noapp=true.
This seller is active on all ebay markets
Hey Gene have you tried non silver HDMI cables? Just curious if the sheen would still be there or not.
I haven’t gone back to them to double check that it’s the box not the cables. I probably will sometime soon. The reason I changed was that the -12’s are smoother, with better tonality and staging. TV audio is also better. I wasn’t alone in that perception. The current cables also have this recessed false room ambiance. What I may do is save the box for DSD files and use coax for the rest. I’m going to be testing a few coax cables from the Cable Co. soon to see if there’s something noticeably better than the Snake Audio Boomslang I’ve been using.
To be honest it probably is the box, I was curious!
I’ve had a kind of physical analogy in mind about this. If you stand in a relaxed posture, athletic posture even better, and look at your feet, your hips roll back. If you then look maybe 10 feet ahead they roll back up and forward. Well, that’s what I’ve hearing here: I2S (box) the music rolls up and forward; coax rolls back and down. In sports, rolling up and forward is good, but not in audio, at least not this time. What I’m saying is the box sounds like a different frequency distribution, in addition to being relatively more forward.
It’s more like a blare than a glare.
Good evening Veneet and Highstream,
I got a new board and now I get the signal from the Oppo to my DAC.
But the Oppo gives only one signal further not Both (Audio main or Audio only). So I Have to switch between Movies and Music (only).
But most Important: IT WORKS.
Thanks again
That’s great! I am curious on your settings as mine works for both music and movies using the hdmi audio out. Maybe we can figure that out next!
I’d like to thank Veneet and all those that have contributed with so much helpful info. I currently have this board and I’m in the process of mounting it in a nice case with rear facing connections. I will post pics when complete.
I would like to address the channel reversal that occurs during DSD playback. I found this pinout diagram and I was hoping to swap pins 1 & 3 to pins 7 & 9 on the I2s output cable. Would someone be able to verify that this would be correct? I realize this would then reverse the channels on PCM content, but I will only be using this board for DSD playback.
Thanks again everyone!
You are absolutely welcome, I love the forums here, everyone is very helpful, it’s truly a great community!
I hope you do find a way to fix the DSD, I bought a spare board and would probably try to fix that for dsd and leave one for PCM (I watch a lot of TV and movies).
I look forward to the pics of the mounted board!
All the best miles1 !
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A dac review led me to notice Kitsune Hi Fi near Seattle has a number of high quality digital converter boards to I2S, s/pdif, etc., but unfortunately all seem to be USB in. Apparently, some DS dac users have had great success with the I2S version. I’ve asked about the possibility of developing an HDMI in model, but haven’t gotten a reply.
I think the whole issue is copyright stuff involved with hdmi.
I brought the board to the attention of Tim Connor, owner of Kitsune Hi Fi. I had noticed he has various converter cards, including USB to I2S. He’s taking a look at the one we’re using from the standpoint of improving its sound quality. In addition to retail sales of good Japanese equipment, he does a lot of designs, upgrades and custom builds. He has to find the time, but is already thinking about clocks, regulators and psu, possibly making a whole unit of it. https://kitsunehifi.com/
Question from Tim Connor of Kitsune Hi Fi:
“I’ve looked over that device and am a bit bummed to see it’s not of the best build quality. Albeit have not had time to try it. It would be nice if it had some sort of Manual with it to help explain some features, but didn’t see anything online. Do you know of anything like that?”
Anyone?
Unfortunately that pic near post 53 is the only thing I ever got
OK long time coming, I’ve been experimenting and using a Sony BDP - S6700 for a DSD output Blu-ray player. A used Oppo player still commands a premium price. I have an HDMI to I2S/IIS HDMI over I2S board which came with a white cable that fitted the I2S output socket on the board. After searching eBay I found a small companion I2S - HDMI module (https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pc-I2S-to-HDMI-module-IIS-I2S-HDMI-Support-DSD-PCM-HIFI-Audio-DIY/312050619538?) which when mated with the I2S input on the module gives you the option of switching 2 of the 6 pins on the cable to correct the L + R channel reversal at the HDMI output socket thus solving this nagging problem of the channel reversal that occurs during DSD playback.
A few caveats: the module only outputs a DSD signal at the HDMI socket, no PCM. For PCM use the HDMI socket on the IIS HDMI over I2S board. Volume should be way down at initiation of playback as there is still a loud static sound when the first track is played. IMO for the best sound, the board needs to be powered by a 5V DC source and the module absolutely need to be powered by a 5V DC source or there is no I2S signal coming out of the HDMI socket. Lastly, once the wires to the pins on the module are set and you’ve tested that everything works you could 1) solder all the input wires to the pins or 2) do like I did and use a small amount of epoxy putty to keep everything put. You do not want any wires accidentally coming off the pins. On the diagram below the Pin # refers to the wires coming off the IIS HDMI over I2S board, so wires 3 and 5 carries the DSD_R and DSD_L signals.
Ok, let the listening sessions of pure DSD via HDMI over I2S to DS begin.
Again thanks to everyone on this forum, I’ve learned a lot and have made some significant improvements to my DS enjoyment.
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This is fantastic, so you use both i2s inputs on your DS DAC one for PCM and one for the DSD?
Good work. So the whole point of this project was to correct the channel reversal? Be interested to hear the listening results.
On this subject, if someone (Veneet?) wants to make contact with Tim Connor of Kitsune Hi Fi about his attempt to improve on the HDMI to I2S board, that would be very helpful. He’s not happy with me over some problems following a fuse order, so it would be better if someone else took up contact and spurred on his interest in following through. Just say you read on this forum… I’ve provided him with information and he’s had a number of questions along the way, so someone familiar with the board, its problems, the mods we had to do, etc., would be most productive. On Ktisune’s site, one can see that he likes to take up these sorts of projects. If he does come up with something, it will almost certainly be a sonic improvement - he’s mentioned a few that can be had - if not a functional one. https://kitsunehifi.com/
Have been very busy with health issues so feedback has been slow. Anyway yes, I use both I2S inputs on my DS DAC. The I2S 1 is for the HDMI to I2S board for PCM and with an attached HDMI Bi-Directional switch the output of the I2S - HDMI module for the DSD can be used for the same I2S 1 input with the flick of a switch. The I2S 2 input is for the I2S output coming out my Singxer SU-1 USB audio bridge. That being said my vast music collection is in red book CD’s which sounds great with the HDMI to I2S board PCM I2S output and the few SACD discs that I have can now be enjoyed via the DSD output of the I2S - HDMI module. I think that the DSD 64 being output by the I2S - HDMI module is excellent. So now all I have to do is to flick a switch depending on program content PCM or SACD. As far as a modification for the HDMI to I2S board I can only see a replacement for the three capacitors on the board two 50V 47uF and one 50V 2.2uF. Any suggestion will be appreciated.
It take about 3-4 weeks for anything to come from China, so always order a spare or two as back up. Lastly with the tariff wars between China and the USA heating up prices may go up so don’t wait too long to order!
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