I2S out issues with the A8

Hi All,

I've decided to get an external dac, Laiv Harmony, great DAC!.

I2S out from the A8 to the Harmony is causing issues. I've seen other people in facebook groups having similar issues with the a8 I2s out to their dac so I am confidence that the fault is with the A8.

1) there's a small hiss cracking noise (noticeable with music off and ear close to the speaker, silent if USB out, or if the a8 is turned off, so it's coming from the A8). After extended play (hours) the distortion gets worse and eventually go haywire, the signal gone from PCM to DSD and weird bitrates etc

2) when the is2 cable is connected between the two devices, the XLR out from the a8 doesn't work, it's distorted. Seems common among other user too.


Is this a hardware flaw with all A8s or just those few unlucky ones. If so, is this fixable with a future firmware?

Thanks

Ty

 

This problem is neither Eversolo's problem nor the external DAC's problem.
Digital transmission using HDMI (I2S) does not yet have a clear standard protocol, so different manufacturers often use different HDMI pinouts, which are not compatible with each other. If the pinouts of the I2S input and output match, you will hear normal sound.
Of course, if Eversolo supported more pinout settings with firmware like Gustard does (4 different pinouts) as you said, it would be more compatible, but that doesn't guarantee all I2S connections.
Unfortunately, you have to check the pinout before connecting.

 

Pinouts is not the issue. The I2S pin setting is correct, the Laiv Dac has options to select Pinouts to match the A8. Pinouts does not explain why the A8 XLR output is distorted when the i2s cable is connected between the two devices.

 

@Daphan when the is2 cable is connected between the two devices, the XLR out from the a8 doesn't work, it's distorted. Seems common among other user too.

It is true if the DAC (any) is connected in i2s and you switch to listening with the internal DAC of the A8 the sound is distorted. To make it work correctly you need to physically disconnect the i2s (hdmi) cable.
Eversolo will have to correct this anomaly (we hope)


N.B. This does not happen if the USB output to a DAC is used.

 

A8 and Harmony dac work perfectly in i2s, use an appropriate and not too long 1 meter HDMI cable. The ideal setting is #5 on the Harmony DAC.

 

@Mauro yup that's my setting. and my cable is a good one, pure silver 0.5m.
It does work fine at the start, but the issue I am getting is the distortion starts after a period of play or can hear crackling sometimes even with the music stop playing. I can see the signal drop out on the Laiv screen, the signal goes from PCM to DSD and back as the DAC tries to sync with the A8, so I get pops, crack and distortions out from the dac as the signal from the A8 is corrupted.

I notice it does happen more often when streaming Spotify vs playing lossless from the internal HD.

I think it could be buffering / EOS engine and should be able to fix with a firmware update in the future.

 

Hello, very strange, it works perfectly for me, my cable is a 1 meter Ricable. SUPREME HDMI MKII Cavo Video Digitale HDMI 2.0 Bandwidth 29 Gbps e Audio I²S - Ricable - Connect Your Passion
Are you sure that all the necessary pins are connected in your cable?

 

im using A8 i2s out to my Topping D90se i2s in. didnt notice any hiss, im using thick HDMI 2.1 cable heavily shield type . the only issue are hdmi connector has no clip or lock. if it got move , then my channel will not be balance. that the only issue i have. and the speaker i use are active dsp 3way speaker and connect to topping d90se via XLR Balance . so it sunk most of the noise, and Topping D90se also will sunk noise. possible some where btw your speaker didnt manage to sunk the noise? or your speaker too sensitive?

 

Really great idea replacing an audibly transparent dac with an expensive unit of unknown pedigree and then connecting it with a protocol with no agreed standard.
Way to go now you just need a boutique ethernet switch,
Keith

 

Sorry if this is repetitious, as I am too lazy to read all the above information that Eversolo users have quoted, but there is no set standard for the I squared S hook up internally why they would not make this an industry standard is beyond my understanding, I know some people will get a laugh out of this, but I still use the cat five cat six or seven cable to me. They should’ve never made that obsolete it worked and it worked good and it sounded good at least to me anyway on a very high dollar system I have a few Dac’s sitting here that have the ability to incorporate this input from what I understand you’re quite a few people out there still using the cat cable, the I squared S is going to remain problematic until I set standard is introduced. it’s ridiculous. That should’ve been the very first thing that was thawed out engineered as far as far as wood pins or connections to the same or need it connections not getting into a menu picking out wood pins go where ridiculous industry sometimes , but they have no problem bragging about it and selling it to you then it’s up to you to pull your hair out to figure out what goes where, NUTS

 

The main thing is:
I2S connections were intended to be internal, short paths, between chips, onboard. AND NOT between devices.
For unknown (to me, but not only...) reasons, somebody decided that such a connection would make things better... so, to me, the best thing one can (and should) do, is to not pretend / use I2S at all, but stick to USB / COAX / OPTICAL.
Of course, this is my thoughts, but I still hope many agree.

 

thank you for you constructive input to a question about an issue. If I really want you know your superior complex opinion on something, I'll be sure to reach out.

 

So in your opinion Eversolo, Denafrips, Holo, PSAudio, Rockna and the rest of the world are all stupid for putting i2s on their devices?

 

They have to respond to the idiot ‘audiophile’ press, Daniel Weiss thought DSD a ‘broken’ codec yet had to incorporate it because his Far Eastern importer demanded it.
Keith

 

Good question you tell me, but I’ll tell you what I do think is insane. I got an INNOUS streamer CD ripper, external power supply, and it really doesn’t sound a whole lot better than the Eversolo A8 that I purchased back in July of this year really just to see what it was about for the cost, the innous absolutely sounds fabulous, but it doesn’t sound $4000 fabulous over the A8 not that much at all now that’s what I call insane ridiculous every year you turn around some guy that went to engineering school for a few years comes up with an endgame cable wire worked the best you say what you want Digital is always going to be digital

 

The A-8 measures superbly it is audibly transparent, nothing is better than that, without any technical knowledge it is easy to fool people into spending insane amounts.
Get knowledge and stop being taken for a fool.
Keith

 

Hey Keith I could not have stated it any better myself. I absolutely agree with you 110%. shame

 

Measurements:
THD+N:
Innuos Pulse streamer: 0.01%
Eversolo dmp-A8: 0.0001%

Listening:
Innuos has much better soundstage than dmp-A8. Well, Innuos is more expensive too.

?

 

Short answer: Absolutely yes.
Long answer: see Keith's response, here above.

 

We should also see what is the behaviour of the Innous when it comes to harmonics and interchannel modulation; these factors usually affect soundstage.
Not that it is a bad thing, auditorially speaking (I mayself like wide soundstage representation, but I play with early / late reflections altering my speakers position for that...), but it may for sure be an alteration of the original mastering/mixing; and therefore not "transparent".