The performance you describe happens when the Sony Player connects straight HDMI to the Deembedder, with SPDIF coaxial straight to your DAC. The DC power over HDMI from the Sony disc player is not good enough for the Deembedder. You should provide external 5vdc to the Deembedder. When I disconnect the external 5vdc from my unit, it does exactly what you stated yours is doing.
Thanks. The seller got back to me and said exactly the same thing. Now I have to find a 5v DC power supply for the unit.
Since you are familiar with the de-embedder, perhaps I can ask you another question. I connected the unit to 5V DC power, and now the DAC is showing DSD input. However, there is an intermittent digital artifact, a very annoying, periodic clicking noise. Ideas?
Please narrow down when the periodic clicking noise is occurring. When playing a CD or when playing an SACD (I assume so, by the DSD is being shown)? I don't have experience with many other units, which was why I started a thread awhile back. The only ideas I would have about your clicking noise are that you may have one(1) of three problems. Or more. Ideas are that you may have a dodgy De-embedder. QA isn't guaranteed with this product. You might try another power supply, I swapped to an ifi 5vdc power supply. And maybe your Sony Disc player is still an issue. I have a Sony X700 and it is not producing clicks when playing SACD over HDMI to Deembedder to DOP to the DAC. Sorry that can't be more help.
Thanks, Cherry. The clicking (now more of a continuous crackling or static) occurs when playing SACD via HDMI to the de-embedder to DoP via coaxial to the DAC. The seller asked for a video and I just sent it to them. We'll see if they have any advice. I don't think it's the Sony. I can play SACD as PCM via coaxial to the DAC and there is no issue, so the player appears to be reading the SACD correctly. I also don't think it's the power supply; I'm using 5V battery power. The de-embedder could be defective, or maybe it's the HDMI cable from the player to the de-embedder. It's an inexpensive cable I bought from Amazon; maybe I could try a better one.
Your mention of crackling/static reminded me of when I tried the 1st HDMI de-embedder and played DSD output the IIS interface to my DAC. I recall hearing noise behind the music. sent the unit back. My current HDMI de-embedder was identified specifically for DSD over PCM output the SPDIF coax connection.(@Linger63 ) So, currently playing SACD of Mayumi with THE THREE "I Wish You Love". Playing "Smile" sounded great. I installed an HDMI cable between the De-embedder IIS port and my DAC IIS input. Upon changing DAC input to IIS, I started hearing a staticky, vinyl surface-like noise. DAC input changed back to Coax and signal clears up. If you checked all of your cables and connections (disconnect/reconnect) and problem persists... I would highly suggest that your HDMI de-embedder should be replaced.
Tell you what, you design one, fully license compliant, and sell it for less, and we'll take your gouging comments seriously.
My DAC doesn't have a IIS input. It can only accept DoP over coax or optical. That's why I got the (more expensive) DoP version of the de-embedder. I tried connecting the de-embedder to the DAC using optical rather than coax. The noise issue was exactly the same. That's why I think it's either the HDMI cable or the de-embedder itself. I also disconnected and reconnected all the connections. It improved the problem somewhat but it still persists over both optical and coax. LATER. Ordered Blue Jeans Cable's best HDMI cable to install between the player and the de-embedder. I'll report back if it makes a difference.
This may give you some comfort. John Siau, chief designer at Benchmark: "As for DSD, I would never recommend converting PCM to DSD. This is a lossy process; it adds distortion and noise. On the other hand, DSD to PCM conversion is a very straightforward mathematical process. It does not add distortion or noise. The DSD to PCM conversion actually removes ultrasonic noise that could make its way to your speaker if your DAC is not applying a proper DSD low-pass filter" (emphasis added).
Exactly! I've struggled to hear the difference between PCM & DSD the few times I've tried to do a shoot-out. It's something that gets tiresome pretty quickly for me. PCM seems louder but I haven't measured it. The inexperienced ear might think that sounds better but it doesn't. The biggest gain for me was going from Redbook to HiRes. If my DAC had a I2S input I would have gone for a more capable converter box but my takeaway is, if someone has stopped using the SACD layer of discs after moving to an external DAC, a converter box with limitations is better than no box and sticking to Redbook only. I had a slight gain from moving to a better HDMI cable too.
In my experience the primary difference that I hear with DSD which has been converted to PCM is a slight shortening of the ambient trails when compared to listening to the straight DSD.
Now the seller says the problem is that my DAC doesn't support DoP. This is not true; the Benchmark supports DoP 1.1. That's how I started this whole journey. I wrote back to the seller pointing this out. I'll let you know what they say.
IMO, you are experiencing the problems of trying to use these inexpensive import units. I had read more than a few times that people had trouble with these units, trying to find the correct model from the correct seller where it would actually work. My own experience with a first unit which didn't work out the SPDIF port and was noisy on the IIS port. Trying to return that to a reluctant seller. They tried everything to get me not to return it. (Yet, I did). I am not saying these devices are all bad, but it seems a crapshoot. And buyers should be better aware of that. I am satisfied with the unit I have now, but it took some doing. There are more expensive alternatives, but I believe better supported.
I believe you are right. I tried replacing the HDMI cable but that didn't help either, so I think the unit is at fault. Did you find one that outputs DoP? If so, I would appreciate a link or other contact info. Thanks! LATER. I see that I ordered the same de-embedder from the same eBay seller as you. Yet yours works but mine doesn't. I guess QC is an issue with these.
I ordered this exact one, and it works DoP out the SPDIF coaxial port. HDMI/MHL Interface Audio I2S/DSD/Optical/Coaxial HDMI To I2S IIS for DOP Board | eBay
Just FYI....... You have the same DAC as me and its I2S pin assignment settings are NON adjustable. As the cheap de embedder works in slave mode its I2S pin assignment settings are also NON adjustable. Therefore you need a DAC which has adjustable I2S pin assignment settings in its menu or a DAC that simply has matching I2S pin assignments to start with (e.g. Denafrips Pontus) If you don't have those things (e.g. a Gustard X26Pro) you will get the noise you mentioned. WRT SPDIF port not working I am assuming that was for DoP use?? If so then just want to confirm there are 2 different cheap boxes available One is around $50 and offers I2S but does NOT do DoP over SPDIF The other is around $100 also offers I2S and DOES do DoP over SPDIF Important to read Ebay ads carefully and message Seller if required BEFORE purchasing which will avoids any issues. Lastly......Yes I agree there are more expensive alternatives........MUCH more expensive!!!!!
Yes, that's the exact same one I ordered, from the exact same seller. Not sure why yours works and mine doesn't, unless, as I said, it's a QC issue. (Actually, mine does work, in the sense that it sends DoP over SPDIF. It's just noisy.) Meanwhile, the seller now suggests that I set video output to 1024. I'll try that when I get home.
Set the video output to 1080p but that didn't help. I'm pretty sure I have a bum unit, unless there's some obscure cause that neither the seller nor I have thought of. Maybe I'll ask the seller to exchange my unit for a new one and see if that works.
UPDATE. I got a different de-embedder from a different manufacturer and it works fine, so the first unit I got was definitely defective. I'm returning it. It's the same one @Cherrycherry got and his worked fine, so I guess I just got a bad one. Thanks everyone for your help and advice! Listening to SACDs again ... aah.
Hi thanks for the thread, I’m looking for a de-embedder for my BDP 6700 too, could you post a link please?
I'm sure the Geer Fab D.BOB is an excellent device. But at $999 it's quite expensive. Is the Geer Fab stereo only? Are there less expensive de-embedders that have similar capabilities?
Well, those cheap Chinese boxes that were discussed upthread. Not aware of any others. D.BOB is stereo only.
Thanks! Can't seem to find out where the Geer Fab is made. Maybe it's an expensive Chinese box. Here's an open box Geer Fab at Music Direct for $799. Nice savings if anyone is looking for one. GeerFab Audio - D.BOB Digital Breakout Box **OPEN BOX**
Audio Praise also makes some high-end de-embedders which will extract DSD as DoP over coax. In the past they made some "vanity" cards which provided DoP outputs for certain model Oppo and Denon universal players. Also, OppoMod makes (or made) some not overly expensive I2S output cards which installed into certain model Oppos which extracted native DSD. But these only work for DACs with I2S inputs.
