[Lono]

Hello Everyone!

So let me get this right, the Hub is black, not black and silver like my Zap and Vox?
And the i2s connectors on the Hub and the Vox differ?!
What do you do if you have another device that uses i2s?
I was thinking of upgrading my PC to use a Pink Faun I2S card, from the sound of it, I'd then have to use a different connector between the Hub and Vox.
Will another connecter handle DSD512 up sampling between the Hub and Vox?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm not going to part with my money until I'm happy any problems are sorted.
It cost me a lot of money to ship my Vox/Zap back to Audiobyte to fix a problem and it got stuck in customs for a month.
I'm not doing that again!

Best regards to you all,

Lono

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

But two devices of the same manufacturer shouldn't have those i2S pin-out/protocol problems right?

Sorry I mean to say...that assuming you have the same equipment manufacturer, therefore there will be no problems on pin-out/protocols. THAT there's no need for special HDMI cables, a GENERIC HDMI cable will suffice.

 

[Miracle1980]

Sorry I mean to say...that assuming you have the same equipment manufacturer, therefore there will be no problems on pin-out/protocols. THAT there's no need for special HDMI cables, a GENERIC HDMI cable will suffice.

Correct...no need for special HDMI cable. Now it would be nice to know which of the 2 devices (HUB and ZAP) has the wrong pins setup...

 

[otijhuis]

Hello Everyone!

So let me get this right, the Hub is black, not black and silver like my Zap and Vox?
And the i2s connectors on the Hub and the Vox differ?!
What do you do if you have another device that uses i2s?
I was thinking of upgrading my PC to use a Pink Faun I2S card, from the sound of it, I'd then have to use a different connector between the Hub and Vox.
Will another connecter handle DSD512 up sampling between the Hub and Vox?

Sorry for all the questions, but I'm not going to part with my money until I'm happy any problems are sorted.
It cost me a lot of money to ship my Vox/Zap back to Audiobyte to fix a problem and it got stuck in customs for a month.
I'm not doing that again!

Best regards to you all,

Lono

There are 2 versions. A totally black one and a black/silver one. I have the black/silver one. The i2s connectors itself are the same (HDMI). It looks like some earlier units might have an issue but it should just work. Unfortunately, the exact pins that are used to send data and such through the cable can differ between manufacturers. The Hub and Vox support a few different configurations. You can change those in the settings. So if you want to connect another device you have to make sure it supports one of those settings.

Edit: not sure if it's useful to put an i2s card in your PC. If you have the Hub you can just use USB to connect the PC to the Hub and have the Hub connected to the Vox with i2s. I think the i2s card would only be useful if you want to connect the PC directly to the Vox.

 

[AmanK]

@m-i-c-k-e-y You probably weren't able to do a proper comparison, but how did you find the Hub compared to the Singxer SU-6?

 

[mantraone]

@m-i-c-k-e-y You probably weren't able to do a proper comparison, but how did you find the Hub compared to the Singxer SU-6?

Or with Gustard U18 interface =^__^=

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

HUB has more definition, layering, separation and 3D like presentation. Basses more coherent/tight. It was more realistically good. Those what striked me intially.
And was doing it in SPDIF w/ no break-in time. How much more if it was in I2S.
First time I stayed longer than what I have should have on my headphone.

 

[otijhuis]

HUB has more definition, layering, separation and 3D like presentation. Basses more coherent/tight. It was more realistically good. Those what striked me intially.
And was doing it in SPDIF w/ no break-in time. How much more if it was in I2S.
First time I stayed longer than what I have should have on my headphone.

Haha know the feeling. Couldn't stop listening. The jump from the Singxer SU-6 to the Hub was much bigger than I expected it to be.

 

[Lono]

There are 2 versions. A totally black one and a black/silver one. I have the black/silver one. The i2s connectors itself are the same (HDMI). It looks like some earlier units might have an issue but it should just work. Unfortunately, the exact pins that are used to send data and such through the cable can differ between manufacturers. The Hub and Vox support a few different configurations. You can change those in the settings. So if you want to connect another device you have to make sure it supports one of those settings.

Edit: not sure if it's useful to put an i2s card in your PC. If you have the Hub you can just use USB to connect the PC to the Hub and have the Hub connected to the Vox with i2s. I think the i2s card would only be useful if you want to connect the PC directly to the Vox.

Hello otijuis,

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I guess you're correct, I'll stick with USB.
Good to know there's a black & silver version too.

I'd be grateful If you could clarify one more thing though.
I'm still confused as which unit has the I2S problem, is it the Vox or the Hub?

Many thanks,

Lono.

 

[otijhuis]

@Lono technically it could be either one I guess. Earlier units of the Vox seem the most likely if Nicolae is sending out a replacement Vox unit. Looks like in some cases both the Vox and the Hub are configured for the same protocol (Rockna I believe) but they still can't understand each other. The configuration basically determines which part of the i2s protocol (data etc) is expected on specific pins of the i2s cable (HDMI in this case). I think @m-i-c-k-e-y had his Singxer SU-6 connected to the Vox with i2s, so the i2s itself works. It's just that the Singxer SU-6 is fully configurable with physical switches so you can change the meaning of the pins until it works.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

@otijhuis Bulls Eye!
And to be specific, since there was no defintive config for Rockna, I configured my VOX and SU-6 to the PS Audio I2S format and it works (changing pin 7 of SU-6 for L/R channel if needed).

UPDATE: Distributor acknowledged the defect and sending me a tested unit.

 

[Palyodgree]

HUB has more definition, layering, separation and 3D like presentation. Basses more coherent/tight. It was more realistically good. Those what striked me intially.
And was doing it in SPDIF w/ no break-in time. How much more if it was in I2S.
First time I stayed longer than what I have should have on my headphone.

As a former owner of the Vox I moved on last year from the Hydra Vox waiting for the Hub , however I have good thoughts all around of the Hydra Vox I would love to listen to this digital stack with the Hub ,,,.. Mickey was the Hub worth the wait ?
Cheers

 

[Miracle1980]

Has the 0.2sec delay issue been fixed?

I'm currently in holiday since more than one week and I cannot check if there was any firmware update.

In case we should ping Nicolae and remind him that we are still waiting...

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Mickey was the Hub worth the wait ?

Still wating for the replacement unit.

Worth the wait?

For the brief encounter, I could say YES. It is not only the increase in SQ but a lot of convenience it brings:
- As streamer using LAN (via UPnP). Used my tablet w/ BubbleUPnP to control and play music. No more extra external player apps/streamer.
- as Upsampler - won't use my PC anymore for upsampling (using HQplayer). Will go dricetly from the HUB.
- As DDC - No more pin setups. Plug directly to VOX.

Gripes:
- Why is it in black? Black grilles, black feet?
- No analog XLR input. Not that I'll use it.
- Power cable is lower quality / plastic connectors.

Wait, see and verify:
- Site says LAN is upto DSD128. But I have DSD256 and some DSD512 materials. Will see.
- Will compare still USB vs LAN. Will test my Android Box / USB Audio Player Pro (my favorite player app) thru USB and compare SQ.

Other:
- A Tr3 of Colorful LCD screens. Sometime it beautiful, sometime its a bit much.
- If they had decided to drop the analog XLR. They shoud have added internal SATA port(s) instead.

 

[Miracle1980]

Gripes:

- Power cable is lower quality / plastic connectors.

Regarding the cable... Have you guys "discovered" what is the name of the secret connector and, ideally, the pins connection scheme?
At least we could ask someone to prepare a better quality version of it...