I am new to hdmi i2s and I really appreciate the benefit of your experience. Thank you very much.
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Thatâs it.
Would you be interested in seeing it go to another good home?
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The Silver is baby steps. The Platinum is so obviously better and these days about the same price. Again, the Platinum sounds so obviously better than the Silver.
And both are laid to waste by the Revelation Audio Labs HDMI Cable.
Just so you know your future.
So. Many. Of. Us. Have. Done. This.
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Thank you. Ordering RAL HDMI cable now.
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Looking forward to hearing my RAL HDMI.I think @aangen should be getting commission from Brad at RAL!
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What do you recommend as a good quality glass cable ?
I went through the Silver and the Platinum on the way to the RAL. Just wanted to save him from a similar fate.
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Lifatec I have found to be very good.
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I have a problem, issue, with HDMI (I2S)connections.
I used a good quality HDMI cable between my new Direct Stream DAC and a new, commodity Sony CD player. Doesnt work. The touch screen on the DAC shows the I2S option locked. Attempts to Play the CD result in silence. I have been told, correctly I believe, that there is no such thing as a specifically I2S cable; so it would seem that any good HDMI cable should work. Is it possible that the I2S interface works only with PS Audio transports? If it does not work with 3d party transports, that strikes me as a critical failing. Can anyone illuminate this question?
Welcome @steven.brooks
I faced an issue between Roon Nucleus and DS DAC. The Nucleus HDMI audio output is not the same as I2S. To resolve this I would have to either get HDMI to I2S converter, or use USB output on the Nucleus either directly into then DS DAC or via Matrix XPDIF-2 then into I2S.
https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/diy-interfaces/digital-interface-hdmi-mhl-to-i2s-coaxial-optical-p-13419.html
https://www.matrix-digi.com/en/products/314.html
Edit: With a normal CD player, the coaxial digital input on thenDS DAC does a marvellous job.
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You are right that it works with PS Audio and not any old transport. The DSD would work with any proper HDMI cable, but PS Audio, in order to protect the copyright encryption that Sony built into the SACD format playback via digital output has developed a proprietary wiring for the HDMI I2S that your Sony does not support. So a PWT, a DMP or the earlier PW memory player, and certain other sources that have adopted the PS Audio configuration, will workâthe vast majority of sources with HDMI outputs will not.
I personally donât consider that a critical failing. . . PS Audio has had to shell out dollars to be in on a license for the SACD âhandshake,â and really the differences with the DSD for Redbook are not that strong with coax, AES/EBU or optical, and the real specialness of the HDMI/I2S is revealed with DSD/SACD playback. Sonyâs business model is the restricting factor here.
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Lonson, Thanks very much for the very helpful insights.
The mystery remains, for me, how is one to know which transport manufacturers (âcertain other sourcesâ) have adopted the PS Audio configuration. One hopes there might be one or two less costly than the current PWT. Say, e.g., a Hegel or a Pro-Ject transport? Your thoughts would be appreciated.
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For compatibility, start here:
Thanks Lonson !
I just bought a Jayâs Audio transport, which they can modify for the PS Audio i2s. It is outstanding as others on the forums can confirm. And at $2400 much more affordable than the PWT, although it does not play SACD.
Steven, as I have had PS Audio transports I havenât pursued this very far myself. I think there are a few threads here in the forum that address this. I do know that for SACD playback and DSD playback via HDMI the choices are very limited. There is a card that can be added to some OPPO universal players, though OPPO no longer manufactures and prices have gone high for used machines. For Redbook and other resolutions Pi Raspberry and Jayâs Audio seem to offer the same protocolâthose are not inexpensive players. I am not aware of a Hegel or Pro-Ject that is compatible. Perhaps others with more knowledge will step in here. A used DirectStream Memory Player may be a good candidate. . . I have one of these and love it. One of these days I hope I can afford the new PS Audio PerfectWave Transport. . . .
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Iâm new to âburning inâ audio. Do I need to actually have the speakers connected or can I just burn in, for example, a HDMI cable from my Matrix to my DAC, but with the amplifier turned off?
For the hdmi, no need for the amp to be on.
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After reading a lot of threads, on multiple forums, Iâm considering the an older Silver Starlight 5.2,Purist Audio Design, or blue jeans⌠but these are all relatively long besides the Blue Jeans. It sounds like shorter is better for I2S.
What would you pick?
WireWorld Silver Starlight 5.2 (2M Length) (Used)
Purist Audio Design Diamond Revision (1.2M)
Blue Jeans Belden FE (2 FT)