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.