[medon]

Look like 12th DDC has officially launched ... Indeed great news for those who get the new 12th.

... this is the DDC section of the official vinshineaudio.com shop, as of now.

Medon, by the way, how's the sound with and without GAIA? Remembered you said you liked your Venus new fw. Now with DDC does it goes better?

Yep.
I am honestly surprised by HOW MUCH the sound improved already by now, with a barely burnt-in unit.
It let it play now non-stop and see if there's more to gain.

Already now the difference compared to direct Streamer==USB==>DAC connection is quite staggering.
- more definiton, top, mids, bottom
- less digital "glare"
- better focus

It is quite a bigger improvement compared to the signal grounding I just applied recently.
All combined, the setup now sounds absolutely stunning (for me ).

Cheers!

 

[TheMaestro335]

Hello all. I have over a hundred hours on my venus2 latest software and I have to agree it really does sound amazing! It seems like it is improving each time I listen to it. The sound stage is massive and there are now more layers/space in the sound. My setup is a new Matrix element S streamers USB out to a Denafrips Iris 12th model, and I2s out to the Venus. System never sounded better!

Regards
Jeff

 

[medon]

After some more hours after inserting the DDC into my chain: This has to be the single most significant upgrade so far since I started my upgrade journey with the Ares II DAC last year.
I still remember that mid-2022 with my old streaming solution (Argon Solo via SPDIF) the sonic progress from Ares II (well burnt-in) to the Venus II (new, no burn-in) was a little underwhelming.
Then after burn-in of the Venus II and adding a Auralic streamer (connected via USB into the Venus) I thought that's it.

Boy was I wrong.

TL;DR: I honestly encourage everyone to think about a DDC in case he/she is running the DAC without one. It's kind of annoying to be only "half there" with one already expensive box (DAC), but I'm afraid it's the way it is.
Or, put the other way: Instead of upgrading to a higher DAC add a DDC. It cleans up stuff (jitter, noise) that even a T+ on its own probably cannot deal with as effectively.

 

[Palyodgree]

After some more hours after inserting the DDC into my chain: This has to be the single most significant upgrade so far since I started my upgrade journey with the Ares II DAC last year.
I still remember that mid-2022 with my old streaming solution (Argon Solo via SPDIF) the sonic progress from Ares II (well burnt-in) to the Venus II (new, no burn-in) was a little underwhelming.
Then after burn-in of the Venus II and adding a Auralic streamer (connected via USB into the Venus) I thought that's it.

Boy was I wrong.

TL;DR: I honestly encourage everyone to think about a DDC in case he/she is running the DAC without one. It's kind of annoying to be only "half there" with one already expensive box (DAC), but I'm afraid it's the way it is.
Or, put the other way: Instead of upgrading to a higher DAC add a DDC. It cleans up stuff (jitter, noise) that even a T+ on its own probably cannot deal with as effectively.

Medon you may be interested in John Swenson‘s technical corner on UptoneAudio site ,it’s a collection of verbatim excerpts taken from audio forums there seems something always to discover that brings a jump in sonic performance . You don’t have to have a technical background to understand it John lays it out most anyone can follow his technical explanations, well most of it anyway.

 

[medon]

Medon you may be interested in John Swenson‘s technical corner on UptoneAudio site ...

Thank you very much indeed for the interesting read!

 

[Funnychap]

After some more hours after inserting the DDC into my chain: This has to be the single most significant upgrade so far since I started my upgrade journey with the Ares II DAC last year.
I still remember that mid-2022 with my old streaming solution (Argon Solo via SPDIF) the sonic progress from Ares II (well burnt-in) to the Venus II (new, no burn-in) was a little underwhelming.
Then after burn-in of the Venus II and adding a Auralic streamer (connected via USB into the Venus) I thought that's it.

Boy was I wrong.

TL;DR: I honestly encourage everyone to think about a DDC in case he/she is running the DAC without one. It's kind of annoying to be only "half there" with one already expensive box (DAC), but I'm afraid it's the way it is.
Or, put the other way: Instead of upgrading to a higher DAC add a DDC. It cleans up stuff (jitter, noise) that even a T+ on its own probably cannot deal with as effectively.

Yep, I got the Denafrips Iris 12th (a DDC) and it made a significant improvement via i2s to my Denafrips Ares II 12th.

Today I've just requested the July 2023 v1.8 firmware for my Denafrips Ares II 12th (I've been hesitant to upgrade until I heard more customer feedback and now I feel good about requesting it).

My setup:
After I upgraded my mixed use theater/music room's 2 front L/R speakers to GoldenEar BRX with the awesome AMT ribbon tweeter, these tweeters are soo revealing and realistic (gave me goosebumps) that it got me to upgrade the weaker links in my chain:
- Added a 3rd GoldenEar BRX as my center channel speaker.
- Added a DDC from Denafrips Iris 12th which improved the sound for my already great Denafrips Ares II 12th (a DAC with R2R technology for 3D live/realism)
- Eversolo DMP-A6 streamer with native Apple Music for hi-res lossless and ripping my CDs to it.

source=Apple Music (hires lossless, and spatial audio surround music) and Denafrips Ares II 12th dac (R2R technology for 3D live/realistic sound).

 

[David A Silva]

@Funnychap - Very nice setup! Enjoy!

 

[medon]

After some more hours after inserting the DDC into my chain...

Sorry guys, need to stray off the "12th firmware" topic once again and come back to the DDC / Gaia topic one more time.
Thanks to Gary88's hint I ordered a certain "HDMI" cable specifically made to be an I2S interconnect.

Left: Audioquest Carbon HDMI; Right: AVplay HD-300

I have to say results are embarrassing.
Let me explain:
So far, I tried three different HDMI (video) cables. One was a generic Amazon 9,99 cable I have on my computer to connect the display. It's doing fine there, but is crap for the Gaia/Venus combo, even much worse that direct streamer--USB-->VENUS connection. I wasn't really surprised.

Next, I borrowed two HDMI cables of higher quality from my HiFi dealer's - both Audioquest; one time a "Chocolate" - albeit a very long one (3m). This sounded MUCH better than the generic HDMI cable. It made the promise of a DDC true: better SQ compared to direct streamer-->DAC connection true. No wonder so far.

The Audioquest Carbon I borrowed next is already quite short (good that is, I guess) and priced around 150-200 - so: not exactly cheap. This cable sounds a small tad better compared to the much longer-than-needed (3 meters) "Chocolate", so I thought the optimum might be close. I thought, the AQ "Carbon" might be already at 98% and therefore good enough - for me.

Unfortunately, this is not true.
Let me clarify: I tried only one and a single copy of these AQ cables each, and these are not brand new cables but have been in use for a while. So they might be damaged somehow -- maybe. Honestly I don't think so, but it cannot be ruled out.

Anyway: The special silver HDMI cable puts SO MUCH more clarity and bass definition into my chain, it's both exciting but also a little bit frustrating IMHO.

It's exciting because it sounds amazing, and the price is really competitive - got it for less than 70 EUR/USD via AliExpress. After an ~5k invest into Gaia+Venus this is simply a no-brainer, cost-wise.

What leaves me scratching my head is: The concept of selling DDCs and DACs with the possibility of using HDMI cables as interconnects is appealing.
But since obviously the quality of this HDMI cable is so very much deciding about the quality improvement that can be had by adding a DDC, in my humble opinion every seller of DDC/DAC combos (which Vinshine is) could/should lend their customers a helping hand by offering a tried-and-true high performance cable like this one right within the box.

After all, adding a Denafrips DDC to your Denafrips DAC digital front end is meant to be a sound quality upgrade for 99% of users - not many will aim for more connectivity I guess.

A DDC is quite a lot of money. If the results of adding this DDC can be boosted by 50 or even 100% by adding a moderately priced, specialized cable like the one I got, this is a MUST.
I mean... who would have guessed that a standard higher-than-average quality HDMI cable like the AQ cables mentioned above simply don't fare well in this Denafrips DDC/DAC combo?

Anyway. Hope you guys don't mind my abuse of this "12th firmware" thread. Cheers, happy listening! Or, as Hans would say: Enjoy the music.

 

[David A Silva]

I agree with you 100% @medon !

 

[Smoothstereo]

Sorry guys, need to stray off the "12th firmware" topic once again and come back to the DDC / Gaia topic one more time.
Thanks to Gary88's hint I ordered a certain "HDMI" cable specifically made to be an I2S interconnect.

Left: Audioquest Carbon HDMI; Right: AVplay HD-300

I have to say results are embarrassing.
Let me explain:
So far, I tried three different HDMI (video) cables. One was a generic Amazon 9,99 cable I have on my computer to connect the display. It's doing fine there, but is crap for the Gaia/Venus combo, even much worse that direct streamer--USB-->VENUS connection. I wasn't really surprised.

Next, I borrowed two HDMI cables of higher quality from my HiFi dealer's - both Audioquest; one time a "Chocolate" - albeit a very long one (3m). This sounded MUCH better than the generic HDMI cable. It made the promise of a DDC true: better SQ compared to direct streamer-->DAC connection true. No wonder so far.

The Audioquest Carbon I borrowed next is already quite short (good that is, I guess) and priced around 150-200 - so: not exactly cheap. This cable sounds a small tad better compared to the much longer-than-needed (3 meters) "Chocolate", so I thought the optimum might be close. I thought, the AQ "Carbon" might be already at 98% and therefore good enough - for me.

Unfortunately, this is not true.
Let me clarify: I tried only one and a single copy of these AQ cables each, and these are not brand new cables but have been in use for a while. So they might be damaged somehow -- maybe. Honestly I don't think so, but it cannot be ruled out.

Anyway: The special silver HDMI cable puts SO MUCH more clarity and bass definition into my chain, it's both exciting but also a little bit frustrating IMHO.

It's exciting because it sounds amazing, and the price is really competitive - got it for less than 70 EUR/USD via AliExpress. After an ~5k invest into Gaia+Venus this is simply a no-brainer, cost-wise.

What leaves me scratching my head is: The concept of selling DDCs and DACs with the possibility of using HDMI cables as interconnects is appealing.
But since obviously the quality of this HDMI cable is so very much deciding about the quality improvement that can be had by adding a DDC, in my humble opinion every seller of DDC/DAC combos (which Vinshine is) could/should lend their customers a helping hand by offering a tried-and-true high performance cable like this one right within the box.

After all, adding a Denafrips DDC to your Denafrips DAC digital front end is meant to be a sound quality upgrade for 99% of users - not many will aim for more connectivity I guess.

A DDC is quite a lot of money. If the results of adding this DDC can be boosted by 50 or even 100% by adding a moderately priced, specialized cable like the one I got, this is a MUST.
I mean... who would have guessed that a standard higher-than-average quality HDMI cable like the AQ cables mentioned above simply don't fare well in this Denafrips DDC/DAC combo?

Anyway. Hope you guys don't mind my abuse of this "12th firmware" thread. Cheers, happy listening! Or, as Hans would say: Enjoy the music.

What i2s pin out settings you used on the Gaia and Venus on this all silver cable? I'm also testing out nicer hdmi cables for my Hermes 12th and Pontus 2.

 

[TheMaestro335]

Sorry guys, need to stray off the "12th firmware" topic once again and come back to the DDC / Gaia topic one more time.
Thanks to Gary88's hint I ordered a certain "HDMI" cable specifically made to be an I2S interconnect.

Left: Audioquest Carbon HDMI; Right: AVplay HD-300

I have to say results are embarrassing.
Let me explain:
So far, I tried three different HDMI (video) cables. One was a generic Amazon 9,99 cable I have on my computer to connect the display. It's doing fine there, but is crap for the Gaia/Venus combo, even much worse that direct streamer--USB-->VENUS connection. I wasn't really surprised.

Next, I borrowed two HDMI cables of higher quality from my HiFi dealer's - both Audioquest; one time a "Chocolate" - albeit a very long one (3m). This sounded MUCH better than the generic HDMI cable. It made the promise of a DDC true: better SQ compared to direct streamer-->DAC connection true. No wonder so far.

The Audioquest Carbon I borrowed next is already quite short (good that is, I guess) and priced around 150-200 - so: not exactly cheap. This cable sounds a small tad better compared to the much longer-than-needed (3 meters) "Chocolate", so I thought the optimum might be close. I thought, the AQ "Carbon" might be already at 98% and therefore good enough - for me.

Unfortunately, this is not true.
Let me clarify: I tried only one and a single copy of these AQ cables each, and these are not brand new cables but have been in use for a while. So they might be damaged somehow -- maybe. Honestly I don't think so, but it cannot be ruled out.

Anyway: The special silver HDMI cable puts SO MUCH more clarity and bass definition into my chain, it's both exciting but also a little bit frustrating IMHO.

It's exciting because it sounds amazing, and the price is really competitive - got it for less than 70 EUR/USD via AliExpress. After an ~5k invest into Gaia+Venus this is simply a no-brainer, cost-wise.

What leaves me scratching my head is: The concept of selling DDCs and DACs with the possibility of using HDMI cables as interconnects is appealing.
But since obviously the quality of this HDMI cable is so very much deciding about the quality improvement that can be had by adding a DDC, in my humble opinion every seller of DDC/DAC combos (which Vinshine is) could/should lend their customers a helping hand by offering a tried-and-true high performance cable like this one right within the box.

After all, adding a Denafrips DDC to your Denafrips DAC digital front end is meant to be a sound quality upgrade for 99% of users - not many will aim for more connectivity I guess.

A DDC is quite a lot of money. If the results of adding this DDC can be boosted by 50 or even 100% by adding a moderately priced, specialized cable like the one I got, this is a MUST.
I mean... who would have guessed that a standard higher-than-average quality HDMI cable like the AQ cables mentioned above simply don't fare well in this Denafrips DDC/DAC combo?

Anyway. Hope you guys don't mind my abuse of this "12th firmware" thread. Cheers, happy listening! Or, as Hans would say: Enjoy the music.

Hello Medon,
I am totally confused? What is the HDMI cable you are recommending?

Regards
Jeff

 

[medon]

What i2s pin out settings you used on the Gaia and Venus on this all silver cable? I'm also testing out nicer hdmi cables for my Hermes 12th and Pontus 2.

I use the default "000" config on both DDC and DAC. Told the seller on AliExpress I need a cable for the Denafrips DDC+ Denafrips DAC combo.

 

[reydelanada]

What is the electronic/sciencetific/engineering principle that changes sound or bits as you change an hdmi cable?

I must be missing something… I find absolutly no difference in a 500€ tubulus hdmi or a regular 10€ hdmi cable.

But probably my room and system are not good enough

 

[medon]

Hello Medon,
I am totally confused? What is the HDMI cable you are recommending?

Regards
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

the cable is the so-called "AVplay HD-300". You should find several sellers on AliExpress selling this kind of cable.
I got mine from the seller "Queenway Store", see screenshot below. It arrived around 3 weeks after ordering, all customs handling done properly by the shipper from CN to Germany.

Cheers! Medon

 

[medon]

What is the electronic/sciencetific/engineering principle that changes sound or bits as you change an hdmi cable?

I must be missing something… I find absolutly no difference in a 500€ tubulus hdmi or a regular 10€ hdmi cable.

But probably my room and system are not good enough

... well, I guess your room could be optimized, your system looks very nice to me, though.

Honestly, I am a little frustrated myself that - again - there is this cable thing.
We all know bits are not bits in digital audio, but I would not have guessed my system is so far off.

Maybe there's a fault somewhere in my chain, but I'd have no clue where to look for a fault.