Popular Post diecaster Posted January 17, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted January 17, 2018 Mano Music Streamer tmtomh and Doak 2 Link to comment
diecaster Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 1 hour ago, BigAlMc said: Hi @T-Bone I did a similar search to pair with my PS Audio Directstream dac and didn't find a convincing solution. Initially I was interested in the original Sonore Signature Rendu but a conversation with Adrian at Sonore put me off because he tried to push me towards USB saying that they were getting better SQ from USB than they achieved with I2S from the SSR. I then went down the same path as you did with the SU-1 which as you know is a great bit of kit. But in the end I got fed up with the complexity and issues involved with an overcomplicated 'spaghetti' solution. ie all the different cables and power supplies etc, each of which has pros & cons. The I2S solution that I was most intrigued by was the servers that Pink Faun (based in Netherlands) offer. Ok not a streamer per se but you could output I2S to your Holo Spring I believe. In my case I gave up on I2S and just focused on getting the best server I could get. I'm getting better SQ than I had with the SU-1 but it's via ethernet or USB straight from the server into the DAC. Oh there's also a lengthy thread over at the PS Audio forums that you might want to check out. But I didn't see any compelling I2S solutions there other than some Raspberry Pi builds and custom servers. http://www.psaudio.com/forum/directstream-all-about-it/compatible-i2s-source-devices/page-15/#p85187 Cheers, Alan It seems the most compelling solution for the PS Audio DirectStream is the Bridge II card which is what I am using right now. I don't hear any significant difference between it and the ultraRendu. I want to use Roon so I may be a bit more limited in choices than you. The Mano streamer is still a real possibility. Link to comment
diecaster Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 I hear you! I am quite pleased with my PS Audio DirectStream with Bridge II card. No USB mess or extra LPS units all over the place. Link to comment
diecaster Posted January 20, 2018 Share Posted January 20, 2018 1 hour ago, oneguy said: The Bridge II needs to be able to accept DSD256 or 512 and then it would be perfect. I really hope the upcoming Holo May DAC has this type of setup. The DirectStream supports a max of DSD128. The Bridge II supports only DSD64. There is no way the Bridge II could support a higher rate than the DAC. Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 You are welcome. It would seem the clocks/clocking are improved as is the built-in LPS. That’s all I could glean from the site. I will I’ll be keep an eye on this product. It would seem to be a great match for my DirectStream DAC. Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 19, 2018 Share Posted February 19, 2018 The Spring is well known to have a less than stellar USB implementation and does better with the SU-1 doing the conversion to I2S. But, this thread is about network streamers that do I2S so we are talking Ethernet to I2S here, not USB to I2S. Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 41 minutes ago, gstew said: DO agree with people like @Superdad who point out that the PS Audio I2S over HDMI standard is compromised due to feeding the master clock from the source rather than having the master clock next to the DAC and feeding it to the source. It works as well as it does in most of the setups that use it due to reclocking of some sort or another at the DAC end, often ESS DAC chips using ASRC, but also things like the PS Audio Directstream with the FPGA-based upsampling. AND it appears that the ASRC built into the latest ESS PRO DAC chips have closed the gap A LOT between synchronous and asynchronous clocking. So my next references may be DACs with those chips (my current top setups use Soekris R2R DIY'd DAC boards). The DirectStream DAC, when using any of its inputs including the I2S inputs, ignores the clock of the upstream device. gstew 1 Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 32 minutes ago, vortecjr said: What are you guys hoping to gain from eliminating USB in your systems? For streaming, why go from: Ethernet input to USB output to USB input on DAC which then converts to I2S When you can do this: Ethernet input to I2S output to I2S input on DAC Why not get rid of USB if you can? Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 39 minutes ago, vortecjr said: All you are doing is placing all the processing for that task inside the DAC versus just the USB to i2s portion in the DAC. I have been looking at the solutions out there and found some high end gear with $12 boards inside them. What do you think you are getting for 12 bucks. Huh? What I am suggesting is taking away the USB part of the process. I know you sell Ethernet to USB streamers so maybe you have some bias here. I am actually suggesting having the DAC do less work, not more. Using a Ethernet to I2S streamer means the DAC does less because it doesn't have to do the USB to I2S conversion. Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 1 hour ago, vortecjr said: It’s clear what I sell. I have also sold Ethernet to i2s converters so I know them very well and I know what it takes to make them. Adding that process in your DAC makes it more complex not simpler. At the very least all you are doing is trading one protocol for another and then adding the operating system on top all inside your DAC. So processor, ram, FPGA, and operating system versus XMOS chip or some other receiver. Both will need clocks, isolation and power circuits. Adding what process to the DAC? Hello? The Ethernet to I2S conversion is happening outside the DAC in a streamer. So the DAC is being fed I2S and not having to convert it from USB to I2S. So the DAC is doing less, not more. Less complex thus simpler. Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 2 hours ago, vortecjr said: An external Ethernet to i2s...fine. Again at the very least all you are doing is trading one protocol for another and then adding jitter by transmitting the signal over wire and via the LVDS conversion process. Having USB to i2s in the DAC is just a better solution overall. That would depend on the DAC, would it not? For example, with the DirectStream, the designer says I2S "would be the easiest to get sounding the best" and "USB can easily be the worst". This is an I2S output streamer thread. You don't currently sell a streamer that supports I2S. Is that why you are poo-pooing the idea of streamers with I2S outputs? mikicasellas 1 Link to comment
diecaster Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 10 minutes ago, gstew said: Doesn't the Sonore UltraDigital offer a PS Audio format I2S over HDMI output? Or am I missing something here? Greg in Mississippi Sure. But Jesus says all it will do is add jitter so why would you use it over straight USB which he says is a better solution? Link to comment
diecaster Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 The Ambre uses RJ45 I2S which is not compatible with devices that use LVDS I2S. Link to comment
diecaster Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 2 hours ago, tapatrick said: Yes but it could be tweaked for some that wouldn't be too difficult.. No, it cannot. Link to comment
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