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Article: At Long Last! Listen To Your (Physical) SACDs Through an Outboard DAC


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On 5/17/2021 at 6:55 AM, jxo said:

A new Pontus DAC arrived several days ago as did one of those I2S converter boxes off EBay.  Dusted off my old Oppo 95.   Ran the second hdmi out to the converter then from there to the I2S input of the Pontus.  Bingo, it worked.  Cold and without any break in at all, sounds very nice.   Will be comparing it in more depth to my old ModWright Sony SACD player (totally tricked out by Dan) but on its third laser.   

 

Thanks George, this is a fabulous development.  Now I will have to build out the server and run Roon to the Pontus as well.

Hi, I'm try to setup my Oppo 205 with the Pontus using the I2s input. However whats the 'default Denafrips’ configuration' for the pin out for the connection. Thanks

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi, I'm able to use the Oppo 205 as a transport connected to the Pontus 2 via the I2S converter.  I'm able to play almost all the file including DSD 64 file. When playing the file the pontus led will light up 1X that is for DSD 64 file. However when I play the DSD 128 file the led of the Pontus till show 1X. It supose to show 2x and there is no sound coming out from my player. Anyone has this issue when playing DSD 128 file? Your feedback will be very much appreciated. Thanks.

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I purchased this device after reading the review. When using it with my Topping E50 DAC and my Sony UBP-X800 the Topping wouldn't accept the Sony's DSD signal. I switched its output to PCM and the Topping then indicated a sampling rate of 176.4 kHz. It appears the Topping can't accept DSD except through its USB output. 

 

I then moved to my main stereo with its Moon 280D DAC and found the same results. As you mentioned in your article the device has no manual. I'm assuming that the coax and optical outputs on the device are outputting an I2S signal as opposed to standard DSD and this is why, even with my 280D, I must switch the output to PCM. 

 

Would you agree that this is the case?

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Another advantage of this device is that should you be employing a blu ray player with a two channel system with no HDMI input, it allows you to send the 24/96 signal to your outboard DAC.

 

Until now the TV was sending (via fibre op cable) a 24/48 signal to my DAC. With this inexpensive device I can now play blu ray audio discs and listen to the the full 24/96 audio. 

 

Of course, this will be a moot point once I set up the new home theatre.

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5 hours ago, 51514brad said:

I purchased this device after reading the review. When using it with my Topping E50 DAC and my Sony UBP-X800 the Topping wouldn't accept the Sony's DSD signal. I switched its output to PCM and the Topping then indicated a sampling rate of 176.4 kHz. It appears the Topping can't accept DSD except through its USB output. 

 

I then moved to my main stereo with its Moon 280D DAC and found the same results. As you mentioned in your article the device has no manual. I'm assuming that the coax and optical outputs on the device are outputting an I2S signal as opposed to standard DSD and this is why, even with my 280D, I must switch the output to PCM. 

 

Would you agree that this is the case?

 

Your Topping should accept DSD via DoP using the right HDMI De embedder.

Please ensure you have a DoP capable model and are hooked up the following way......

Sony set to bitstream DSD via (audio)HDMI out to De embedder.

Then coax out from De embedder to DAC.

 

Coax and optical outputs are DoP and PCM................. not I2S

 

You must also choose the right setting on the De embedder for hi res stereo playback.

 

WRT your Moon 280D.............

According to the User Manual it accepts DSD via it's USB input only..

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  • 1 month later...

Channel reversal on I2S with the Chinese HDMI to I2S box - As long as you have a Denafrips Pontus (or above) -SORTED the easy way:

S DSD Channel Swap Configuration

1. Select I²S (A if you have 2 inputs) Input

2. Press the Mute button once to enter configuration mode

3. Press the NOS button momentarily

CO1 On = DSD Channel Swap

CO2 On = Normal

4. Wait for 10s

5. DAC back in operational mode

The next hint I can give you is:

Use a dedicated I2S cable between the box and the DAC. ( between the SACD/Universal player and the box you must use a HDMI cable.

So far I'm enjoying very much what's coming out of my speakers!!!

 

Setup: Digital - TEAC VRDS10(as CD transport), OPPO BDP-103(as SACDtransport) both into Denafrips Venus II      (the latter through the HDMI to I2S box).

           Analog - Heavily modified Technics SL 1210 Mk2, TimeStep external LPSU, Jolida JD9 SE1 Phono preamp.

           Densen B 200/Densen B 300, Martin Logan ESL EM-X

Enjoy the music

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I have been using a Sony  SCD-XA5400ES with the Chinese Box into a Terminator II (and previously a Pontus II) and the sound quality of CDs and SACDs is just amazing (everybody knows all the good adjectives!). However, I recently acquired a Denafrips Avatar with I2S O/Ps and synchronizing the clock with the Terminator II.... only playing back CDs though. Very interesting sound , different from the SCD-XA5400 and possibly more expansive and accurate... still comprehending/quantifying what I am hearing.   Conclusion...the I2S interface is the way to go always.  

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 3/13/2022 at 2:27 AM, linger63 said:

 

Your Topping should accept DSD via DoP using the right HDMI De embedder.

Please ensure you have a DoP capable model and are hooked up the following way......

Sony set to bitstream DSD via (audio)HDMI out to De embedder.

Then coax out from De embedder to DAC.

 

Coax and optical outputs are DoP and PCM................. not I2S

 

You must also choose the right setting on the De embedder for hi res stereo playback.

 

WRT your Moon 280D.............

According to the User Manual it accepts DSD via it's USB input only..

 

Having just become a new member to this forum because of this thread, first a big thanks to its initiator gmgraves, to hgaggioni, linger63 and all other respondents.

My setup:

Sony UBP-X800M2 blu-ray player HDMI audio-only output   -   HDMI audio extractor   -   optical SPDIF input to RME ADI-2 DAC FS

 

The extractor i'm currently using is a J-Tech Digital JTD18G-H5CH. This extractor is available with many brands (Cable Matters, Monoprice, Orei, Vanco). It is capable of extracting 176.4/24 PCM from SACD and put that out over Toslink optical SPDIF. To that end the EDID selector of the extractor should bet set to 5CH (or bitstream, depending on brand). To my understanding, conversion DSD-PCM takes place inside the Sony player and reverse conversion PCM-DSD by the ESS delta-sigma DAC chip in the RME DAC. It sounds fine.

 

The problem starts when playing 5.1 DVDs on the Sony. The 5CH setting of the extractor causes only the front left & right audio channels to be sent optically to the DAC, so spoken audio is normally absent. I don't want to change the EDID setting for reasons of convenience; the extractor is hidden in the back of the TV furniture.

Question is, does the ChiFi black box that supports DOP64 over SPDIF, act similarly? Or is it fit for both SACD and 5.1 DVD playback with its TV/AMP/DOU selector in one and the same position? Which position is that?

 

Thanks in advance for tips & tricks.

 

 

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5 hours ago, Fench said:

 

My setup:

Sony UBP-X800M2 blu-ray player HDMI audio-only output   -   HDMI audio extractor   -   optical SPDIF input to RME ADI-2 DAC FS

The extractor i'm currently using is a J-Tech Digital JTD18G-H5CH. This extractor is available with many brands (Cable Matters, Monoprice, Orei, Vanco). It is capable of extracting 176.4/24 PCM from SACD and put that out over Toslink optical SPDIF. To that end the EDID selector of the extractor should bet set to 5CH (or bitstream, depending on brand). To my understanding, conversion DSD-PCM takes place inside the Sony player and reverse conversion PCM-DSD by the ESS delta-sigma DAC chip in the RME DAC. It sounds fine.

The problem starts when playing 5.1 DVDs on the Sony. The 5CH setting of the extractor causes only the front left & right audio channels to be sent optically to the DAC, so spoken audio is normally absent. I don't want to change the EDID setting for reasons of convenience; the extractor is hidden in the back of the TV furniture.

Question is, does the ChiFi black box that supports DOP64 over SPDIF, act similarly? Or is it fit for both SACD and 5.1 DVD playback with its TV/AMP/DOU selector in one and the same position? Which position is that?

 

Thanks in advance for tips & tricks.

 

 

 

 

Firstly you are using the wrong extractor for DSD from SACD.

Your current extractor does not do DSD (no DoP and no I2S) so you have to convert DSD to PCM 176.4 in your Sony before sending to extractor and then on to DAC and this is not ideal (kind of defeats the purpose)

 

You need a DoP capable extractor (don't need I2S in your case) so you can set your Sony to output unconverted DSD to it.

The extractor then sends this DSD to your DAC (with NO reverse conversion) and you have avoided extra processing steps (which would most likely have resulted in lower SQ). 

 

WRT 5.1...........Why would you want to send a 5.1 audio stream to a 2 channel DAC?

You could just select the 2 channel audio option in the DVD's menu instead.

 

WRT "switch positions"...........You only need to worry about that if you also have an AVR or Pre/Pro in the system and wish to use the converters HDMI out as a 5.1 ch audio passthrough.

 

In any case for you I would recommend a DoP64 over SPDIF capable HDMI converter which will match up perfectly with your DoP capable DAC.............just like me!!!!!😄

 

 

TIP...........Try Coax instead of Optical if you get new box.....

FWIW.....I tried both and preferred Coax.

 

Good Luck

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Thanks for the fast response.

32 minutes ago, linger63 said:

Your current extractor does not do DSD

[...]

You need a DSD capable extractor so you can set your Sony to output unconverted DSD to it.

I know, that's one of the reasons i'm looking at this ChiFi box.

34 minutes ago, linger63 said:

WRT 5.1...........Why would you want to send a 5.1 audio stream to a 2 channel DAC?

You could just select the 2 channel audio option in the DVD's menu instead.

I don't want to send 5.1 to the DAC. However, when i don't set the extractor's EDID to 5CH, the Sony will not send hi-res SACD audio to the extractor; only 44.1 kHz PCM (no 176.4 kHz). I can't find any DVD menu on my DVDs for switching to 2CH and even when i set the Sony to downmix 5CH to stereo, it won't do that over its HDMI outputs. I contacted Sony Support on this, no luck.

52 minutes ago, linger63 said:

WRT "switch positions"...........You only need to worry about that if you also have an AVR or Pre/Pro in the system and wish to use the converters HDMI out as a 5.1 ch passthrough.

0K thanks. Still, I'd like to know if the switch on the ChiFi box needs a different position when switching from SACD (DSD) to DVD (PCM) playback or vice versa, for 2CH stereo audio output in each case.

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1 hour ago, Fench said:

Thanks for the fast response.

I know, that's one of the reasons i'm looking at this ChiFi box.

I don't want to send 5.1 to the DAC. However, when i don't set the extractor's EDID to 5CH, the Sony will not send hi-res SACD audio to the extractor; only 44.1 kHz PCM (no 176.4 kHz). I can't find any DVD menu on my DVDs for switching to 2CH and even when i set the Sony to downmix 5CH to stereo, it won't do that over its HDMI outputs. I contacted Sony Support on this, no luck.

0K thanks. Still, I'd like to know if the switch on the ChiFi box needs a different position when switching from SACD (DSD) to DVD (PCM) playback or vice versa, for 2CH stereo audio output in each case.

 

WRT 2 channel audio on DVD.............DVD's should all have a main menu where you can select chapters, languages, audio etc.........it should come up automatically when you load one.

Many of them offer a 2 channel option.

Also........Your Sony remote should have an "audio" button you can use to switch between available audio options.

 

ChiFi box would NOT need switching changes as any switching is only related to stereo vs 5.1 ch output and you only want stereo so once you determined best switch setting for stereo it would then just stay there.

 

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On 5/3/2021 at 7:35 PM, Gerry E. said:

I also purchased a Sony UBP-X800M2 digital player for $299 USD.

 

Hi Gerry E., it's been a year, but did you get your UBP-X800M2 to work with the ChiFi box, in particular DOP64 on the coaxial and optical SPDIF outputs of the extractor?

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18 hours ago, linger63 said:

ChiFi box would NOT need switching changes

 

Thanks again, linger63.

I've been ordering a bunch of extractors before and returned most of them due to incompatibility with the Sony player. Returning seems to be difficult with the box at hand. Hopefully someone on the forum can confirm it to work well with the Sony UBP-X800M2, both on SACD and DVD playback (see above).

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Great post! I am also trying this solution with this I2S box to use it with my Denon DBP-2012UD HDMI out player. I’ve just ordered the box from eBay and 2 short HDMI cables. I hope this works as I am currently experiencing some audio artefacts on the Pontus II DAC with the coaxial inputs.
If you’re interested, you can read my post here:
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/denafrips-pontus-ii-audio-artifacts/200540

I’ll report back and let you know if this works ;-) 
Cheers!

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  • 3 months later...

Need help!

 

This setup looks very promising with Oppo UDP-205 HDMI Audio to Pontus (I) on I2S but has not worked yet. Possibly a configuration issue on my part.

 

I purchased the Digital Audio Interface Output box from China on eBay as suggested here and on other forums. Connected HDMI OUT (Audio Only) to the HDMI input (Red light comes on) then HDMI output of the Interface (Green light comes on) to the Pontus I2S input. All I get is static hiss with slight music in the background from the SACD. This is with the OPPO audio setup to output “Bitstream” and “DSD”. Tried Auto modes but that did not work either.

 

Any advice would be most appreciated. I have a fairly large SACD collection and would like to listen through the R2R DAC vice the ESS chip which does not sound as good.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Paul

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Hello Paul,

 

Please read the intructions of the Pontus DAC : https://www.vinshineaudio.com/product-page/denafrips-pontus-r2r-dac

 

The ChiFi box comes (if my memory serves me well) with 1x 2x 4x  = 1 0 0 ... to match the PS Audio DAC (connected via i2s).

Just  try it and keep changing configurations (000 - 111) until it sounds correct. Be aware that you will find possibly 2 combinations that will sound correct but the channels are reversed (the left channel is in the right speaker and the right channel is on the left speaker) then .. keep changing. 

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