DMP-A6 - Digital Pass-through

Hi there,

I just pre-ordered a DMP-A6 and read though the manual.
What I am wondering about. No Audio passthrough via digital IN/OUTs?

I would like to connect my TV via optical to DMP-A6 and pass it through optical out form DMP-A6 to my Chord Hugo (using it as my primary) DAC.

If this aint possible it might be a dealbreaker for me.

Kind regards
Marc

 

You're correct - I've no idea why, but you can't route Optical In to Optical Out. Only XLR & RCA:

 

That is bad. Can this be patched with an update?

 

I’m in the same boat as you. I’ve got my Chord Qutest hooked up via coax to the DMP-A6. When you switch inputs to Bluetooth the option to output via coax disappears. I didn’t realize that the DMP-A6 didn’t have this capability even though my Bluesound Node does. I’m happy with every other aspect of the DMP-A6 so far. Not sure what I’m going to do.

 

I cannot understand, though, why you'd want to feed such an astonishing DAC with such a low-quality signal as BT... In my audio setup, BT never made it through.
The only thing that comes to my mind is that your entire audio chain needs to go into the Chord, as it is the only thing connected to the AMP / speakers... Of course I may be missing something, though.

 

Ease of use. My PC was connected to the Node via Bluetooth for listening to podcasts and watching YouTube videos. I use Roon for streaming music which obviously is not using Bluetooth. It’s really convenient to not have to change outputs on my PC if I want to listen to a podcast.

 

For my point of view. My Chord Hugo TT2 is my main DAC in my setup and I would prefer it over the DMP-A6 DAC.

 

BT-HD is not bad at all. Above all for streaming services. The original BT-SD yes is a clear limiting factor.

 

I'm not sure, but I have a suspicion it's a hardware limitation because all sources except the internal player will only output to XLR/RCA.

I'll ask.

 

Yes it would be a great feature to direct digital inputs via the DOH chips to HDMI as such improving potentially the sound of the source connected to those inputs.

 

It seems it's a hardware limitation.

 

Was already suspecting it was.
Thanks for checking and the confirmation.

A good suggestion for DMP-A8 to include it!

 

Would something like this help you use one of the digital outs and the go to Coax? I am curious myself, as I am considering connecting the DA6 to a Peachtree GAN1 Digital Amp.

 

Grab yourself SMSL PO100pro for 1/4 the price of this wooden thingy you`ve showed.

 

Interesting unit and at a good price indeed.
https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/808.html
This may in fact relieve a few limitations. Above all those looking for I2S output and/or MQA with external DAC's.

Available driver: XMOS_USBAudio_v5.58.0_2023-05-25_setup.exe
Maybe it helps with some W10/W11 driver issues for DoP/Native DSD too?

 

I noticed this issue after I got the unit last week. I was hopeful I could run my old CD player toslink out to the A6, then run the A6 toslink out to my old CD recorder. But no dice.

So the simple work around is to use a toslink splitter. My set up is in a rack so I can hook it all up behind the rack. If this were a desk top system a bulky splitter would not be desired.

Definitely something they should look into for an up and coming full rack width A8.

 

Yeap, add Topping HS-1 before PO100pro and you`ll get poorman`s Gustard U1x (or any other DDC with isolated usb input).

 

So it seems like I have the same problem. I would like to play music from PC via USB-C to DMP-A6 and then further via DAC-Z8 (either via USB or COAX or OPTICAL). Reason? Album art and song details being displayed by DMP-A6. (I don’t get it why digital pass-through is possible via network but not any other way..? FiiO R7 is also an Android-based device and digital pass-through is possible without issues.)

 

Your use-case is a bit weird, though. Not saying that this should be avoided, or it is silly, but, nevertheless, it IS.
What is the meaning of Playing something from a Windows PC => DMP A6 => external DAC?!?!?! And pretending metadata / album art / etc. etc. to be consistent???
JFC, play the s**t from Windows PC to the DAC full stop.
The A6 has not been built from ground up to be a DDC / audio router, so STOP pretending it should perform as one. Make yourself up. /r

 

Just buy a cheap SPDIF optical (TosLink) switch on ebay and connect your DMP-A6 and TV to your Chord DAC that way. Under $20 for a 3 in/ 1 out box with a remote control.