EDIT November 20, 2021: Couple of days ago Aurender did a remote session and fixed the problem!
I borrowed a X-SPDIF 2 from a friend and it sounds amazing in my system (even without external power supply and using a Blue Jeans HDMI cable)!
I have a weird problem though. It worked for two days and then suddenly stopped working. This is my setup:
Aurender N100C → USB → Matrix → I2S → DirectStream Jr.
The DAC would lock onto the sampling rate correctly, but always shows “24 bit” even if I’m playing 16 bit files.
I know the Aurender is working because direct connection from Aurender to DAC via USB works fine.
I know the Matrix is working because connecting from the computer works fine (i.e., Computer-- USB-- Matrix-- I2S-- DAC. works fine). I tested the following configurations:
Aurender → USB → DirectStream Jr. [works]
Aurender → Coax → DirectStream Jr. [works]
Aurender → USB → Matrix → I2S → DirectStream Jr. [doesn’t work]
Aurender → USB → Matrix → Coax → DirectStream Jr. [doesn’t work]
Aurender → USB → Matrix → Coax → Burson Conductor 3 DAC/amp [doesn’t work]
Computer → USB → Matrix → I2S–> DirectStream Jr. [works]
One interesting thing happened though with this setup:
Computer → USB → Matrix with iFi iPower X → I2S–> DirectStream Jr. [doesn’t work]
But…unplugged iFi iPower X, the LED on Matrix turns off and on, and then music starts playing again.
I tried 1) restarting the Aurender, 2) shutdown Aurender wait 30 seconds and turn on, 3) factory reset Aurender without deleting content.
So I think I’ve narrowed down to some kind of compatibility issue with the Aurender and Matrix, but I don’t understand why it worked for two days and then suddenly stops working. I also don’t know how the iFi iPower X fits into all this.
I’ve sent a remote support ticket to Aurender, but if anyone had a similar problem, please let me know how you resolved it.