One common misunderstanding related to DSD and HDMI is that the HDMI standard supports DSD.
From the HDMI knowledge base:
< Q. Does HDMI support SACD?
HDMI has supported One Bit Audio format, such as SuperAudio CD's DSD (Direct Stream Digital), since version 1.2 (released in August, 2005). Customers interested in this feature should make sure that their device supports SACD. >
So, when I am talking about DSD over HDMI I am referring to the above statement. My multiplayer outputs DSD over HDMI that my audio processor is able to decode. This is something entirely different than PS Audio I2s (LVDS) that merely uses a HDMI connector and a HDMI cable to carry the latter.
Regarding HDMI audio, I’ve been using an Oppo player configured to convert SACD/DSD to PCM which is then extracted and converted to coax (or Toslink). The conversion results in 24/88.2. I’ve used units marketed by HDelity and Neet. The results will obviously not be as good as the new PS Oppo based player but aren’t too bad (the sound is a bit ‘glassy’, presumably due to jitter and all the conversions). It would be interesting to compare the result against using the analogue output via a top quality ADC - another job when I have time. Dan.
Update: I’ve just connected this all up again and played the SACD of Patricia Barber’s Café Blue - it sounds mighty good via Direcstream with Torreys.