How to send high-res audio from a Bluray/SACD/DVD player to a DAC via HDMI

In this video we explore three solutions to send the high-resolution PCM and DSD digital signal coming from your CD, DVD, SACD, Blu-ray player to your DAC through HDMI to I2S or SPDIF.

Oppomod:
Audio Extractor*:

HDMI to I2S converter (if out of stock just make a new search in eBay):

*Purchasing items through these Amazon links will generate a small commission to me, thanks! :-)
#dacs #dsdaudio #highresaudio

[MarkFoster-cwgu]

Thank you for the tip regarding the HDMI to I2S converter. This small investment made my Oppo 95 relevant for the near future. Using with an Audio-GD R7HE Mk3 dac with no connection issues. Opened the door to enhanced enjoyment of SACD, Blu-ray, & DVD audio formats. All the best.

[pw]

I have used the same box as shown and this solution between my Oppo 105D and Pontus 2 dac .. it works and sounds better than the SPDIF connections direct from the Oppo 105 to the Pontus dac.
There are a couple of points to note .. I2S does not have a standard for the pin allocations .. so dacs like the Pontus 2 which has the ability to alter the pins via selection on the front panel is a must. The Oppo 105D & the Pontus 2 connection over I2S was easy as the default pins allocation worked .. but other players/dacs my be different.
Use the shortest hdmi cables that you can .. I used 30cm cables and use a reasonable quality cable.
Also note that on my box and as mentioned on other sites on the web this box reverses the channel balance for SACD discs .. I tested this by listening to a hybrid cd/sacd and noted that this in fact happened. So my solution was to get a cable made with balanced ends from the pontus 2 to two RCA input ends into my intergrated amp .. one being made reversed .. Snake Oil cable USA .. this cable is mentioned on the Denafrips web site.
So now it all works fine .. I just have to change the input selection on my amp when I play a SACD to get the correct stereo balance.
Hope this information helps

[jimf]

i have a 103 and a 205 ...great players. for the 103, i simultaneously send video to a monitor and use coax to send the audio signal to my DAC.(you cannot just use the coax...the player needs to see a video output too). my next dac will have hdmi in and the oppo 103 has parallel hdmi outputs and you can output the same signal through both simultaneously

[anroj]

This works like a charm. I got a $57 I2S Audio Extractor off eBay, connected it from my Oppo BDP-105D to the I2S input on my Audio-GD R7HE DAC, and got glorious sound. I have not been able to listen to the SACD layer of dual-layer SACDs through my DAC due to copyright issues. I am able to listen through the balanced outs from the Oppo to my preamp, but that is at CD quality only. What a huge difference!

[johnmarchington]

First things first. Oppo is still making high quality transport mechanisms for digital discs and my understanding is that it will continue to do so into the future. I have recently decided to buy a PS Audio Memory Player and DirectStream DAC and if you buy the two you can enjoy native I²S connectivity between them, so that all the clock, power supply and data lines are kept separate throughout rather than being multiplexed as with SPDIF. I'm hoping to have the units by Christmas.

[천진규-nt]

Thank you for introducing a very reasonable method (from Korea)

[ful]

Sadly My external Teac DAC which is two times DSD for those files does not have a HDMI 12s input I have OPPO 103 player which I send the SACDS and DVD audios through HDMI to my AVR receiver . Another format that only plays on OPPO machines are HRX DVD-R from Reference recordings I send that out to my TEAC UD501 DAC SPDIF input Coaxial. It displays 176.4 sample rate at 32bit. PCM hi res . One day ill purchase the right DAC to do this but as of now the player itself would have to decode it or the AVR which has DSD single rate built in. Good video on this I "m glad I saw it.

[jimnagy]

Hi, rewatched your great video on getting digital to analog; another good DVD-audio CD is the Beatles Love Deluxe collection; it comes with a CD and DVD-audio disc; and it is available on eBay for a little over $10. Jiles Martin has reworked the old songs to make them sound wonderful. Just wanted to share this with you. Keep up the great videos. I'm a big fan. Thanks. Jim from USA-NJ.

[markmancuso]

Grazie Guido for this excellent video. I currently bypass the internal ESS DACS in the EverSolo DMP-A6 via AQ Cinnamon USB to a HoloAudio Spring 3 KTE feeding Buchardt A500 active speakers which produce a wide, deep and articulate soundstage. I plan to use this HDMI to I2S conversion unit between my Oppo UDP-205 and Spring 3 I2S input for SACD content. But there is no preamp to attenuate output XLR levels of the Spring to the Buchardts. Would the Zone 2 HDMI output from my Marantz 7015 provide the necessary output to control the signal to the Spring 3 DAC ? Grazie mille Cugino !🇮🇹🇺🇸

[michaelwright]

I have the old Oppo BDP-83 player, I am using it as a transport for my SACDs and of course, could not get the native DSD signal to my Denafrips Ares II DAC, which was a bummer, as I don't care much for the Oppo internal DAC... So, what to do? 

I bought the GeerFab D.BOB (Digital Break Out Box). Pricey at $1000 US, but it works. I tried one of the Chinese models with no luck, so I pulled the trigger on this ridiculously priced GeerFab unit. Was it worth it? 

Hell yes! I now get that native DSD signal out to my Ares II DAC, and what a game changer. Everything sounds better in a good clean and clear natural way. Even the normal CD recordings sound more detailed, tightened up with deeper bass and clear midrange, the female voice sounds incredible, even on ripped recordings of a questionable source. 

I noticed the difference in sound quality immediately upon adding it into my system. The bass was really brought to a new level, as were the instruments, there was noticeable separation in a good way, I believe the way the engineer intended it to sound. Everything was just better, and it is all done in an unadulterated way.

If you have an above average system I would recommend this pricey alternative. That is, if you are a plug and play and then forget about it kind of guy or gal. If your goal is to simply get a clean DSD recording directly to your DAC and had no luck with cheaper alternatives, get this box if you can afford it. If you enjoy ripping files and playing around with computer gear, and have the time to do all of that, I would pass and stick to what you are doing.

[scottparkhurst]

Does it need to be a dedicated "audio" HDMI out or will just a HDMI output work? Thank you!

[stevensfremont]

Thank you for your great video!
Do you know if the I2S converter works with Blu-Ray DTS-HD movies via Coaxial? That is to say in 24 bits 192 KHz and bypassing the restrictions of cinema audio standards?
THANKS !!!

[drcordelier]

At that time I did that using an HDMI Extractor from Oehlbach. Worked well. Now I use the optical output from the TV to send the signals to the Dac. The eternal plugging in was annoying. For the PC and then to the Dac via USB I have the Portable Pioneer Blurayplayer BDR-XD07. A fantastic player.

[dorkvader]

I bought one of these for my Oppo blu ray player to connect to my DAC and now it is the only player I use for CDs.

[oskarasgeirsson]

Always bitstream SACD/DSD 5.1 hdmi to hdmi AV Receiver. SACD/DSD 2.0 dmi to hdmi AV Receiver to Stereo 2.2. Normal CD over hdmi to 2.2 in AV Receiver is better than use RC analog or fiber/coax. But the AV Receiver must have good DAC/internal setup :) Hdmi has great bandwidth and is noiseless - true digital from source to DAC. I use Pioneer LX800 UHD player for the CD's.

[seaman-vymz]

There are some older receivers which accept and decode unmodified DSD signal from SACD players . Some Denons come to mind .

[jtavegia]

I just bought a Sony X700 bluray player and on the back it has to HDMI, one is labeled HDMI audio only. I am running to RCA cables to my stareo from Musou 4K HDMI Audio Extractor, HDMI to HDMI + Optical Toslink(SPDIF) + RCA(L/R) Stereo Analog Outputs Video Audio Splitter Converter Support 4k 1080P, Black . My Sony player said it is DSD 2.8 MHZ and also has the disc display that says SACD. It does not tell me it is converting this to PCM. Any ideas?

[brianoldro]

I bought a sony DVD/cd/sacd player to get into sacd for cheap. I have a topping e30 dac. The player has hdmi output, the dac does not have i2s. Is my best option for connection to just use the analog outputs on the Sony? Or would I be able to use an audio extractor to coax or optical? Does coax and optical not transmit dsd? Any help and suggestion is appreciated. Thanks.

[JingoLoBa]

Most players like the Oppo have a separate audio hdmi output enabling you to separately access their video signal if relevant such as Blu-ray audio music video movie discs. And yes hdmi Audi out on the Oppo is not IIS

[v_tourer]

Thanks for the tips..!!! The audio extractor & IIS are really good... The extractor u said that didnt work for is may because of the channels that the HDMI is actually carrying and the extractor is giving out to the DAC..!!! I think most of the DACs we use for hifi are stereo support only (2 channels) unlike the separate decoders that are available in AV receivers...
For instance i always wanted to use my chord hifi dac for surround movies( i prefer to watch in headphones) but it wont do it.. which in other words to get the desired 3D effect that particular encoding is to supported by the DACs too...
Anyway do u know any such devices which can really simulate that surround effect into stereo components like Headphones unlike just throwing the surround channels to the left and right of the headphones..!! (thats what yamaha AV reciever silent cinema does)