[mourip]

Buffalo Questions...

I bought a partially completed Opus kit on Head-fi recently which had a lot of boards and a nice Parmetal case. My idea is to use what I can for now and then upgrade to a Buffalo once I can bag a board. Currently have 2 Opus boards, a Ballsie, both power supplies, two 15v trannies, Metronome, SDPIF, USB, optical, and Otto.

If I move to the Buffalo would I just need the USB and/or optical boards plus the power boards? Is the any need for the SPDIF, Metronome, or Ballsie? Seems like the Buffalo32 covers SPDIF, clocking, and output buffering...

Yes, I did read through the various forums but did not come away with a clear view yet

Any input greatly appreciated.

Paul

 

[johnwmclean]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digger945 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It would be a hoot to build this DAC.

Soldering the ESS Chip!

 

[Lil' Knight]

This DAC really makes me drool.
Anyone has spare time this summer and want to build something for fun?

 

[El_Doug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif This DAC really makes me drool. Anyone has spare time this summer and want to build something for fun?

Yes! Which is why I'll hopefully be building one for myself

 

[prinz]

i wonder how about comparison between Buffalo and WM8742 DAC.. Ł. Fikus called them equal..

 

[digger945]

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnwmclean /img/forum/go_quote.gif Soldering the ESS Chip!

You betcha! The Wolfson in the Gamma 1 was probably some of the easiest soldering I have done yet, and I would think the Sabre would be even easier yet.

 

[Russ White]

Quote:

Originally Posted by prinz /img/forum/go_quote.gif i wonder how about comparison between Buffalo and WM8742 DAC.. Ł. Fikus called them equal..

The WM8742 is the budget version of the WM8741. The performance is not bad, but certainly not near as good as its big brother the WM8741.

A quick side by side review of the data sheets will tell you all you need to know, as would a call to Wolfson.

That said, the WM8741 is an excellent DAC IMHO. But I would not bother with the WM8742, the slight price decrease for chip is not worth compromising performance.

Cheers!
Russ

 

[emelius]

sorry if this has been asked/answered already...i've been on surfing safari and am becoming curious as to just how far i could throw my iPhone..

how would one go about getting the new buffalo to accept the dsd feed (that isn't ever pcm encoded) from the new oppo blu-ray player?...

i know it was waaay too complicated with the previous versions of both products, but i know also that oppo has reworked their outputs...

is it still just as difficult?...

cheers...

 

[BrianDonegan]

The ONLY way to get DSD direct out of any player is by tapping the DSD lines inside the player. HDMI is encrypted with the specific intention of keeping people from getting at the uncompressed audio and video data streams. The only way to get data out of the HDMI stream is to hack it or get a chip out of a player with a decoder and hack it. It sucks, but that's the only way.

 

[emelius]

so it is just as difficult as before

...

well the player outputs dsd, the dac has dsd input...is there a solution forthcoming?...

or is there a better way to input dsd into the dac via some other source?...

 

[linuxworks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrianDonegan /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ONLY way to get DSD direct out of any player is by tapping the DSD lines inside the player. HDMI is encrypted with the specific intention of keeping people from getting at the uncompressed audio and video data streams. The only way to get data out of the HDMI stream is to hack it or get a chip out of a player with a decoder and hack it. It sucks, but that's the only way.

check out geffen 'boxes'. they make dvi/audio/hdmi/etc converter boxes.

they can mux and demix the audio and video out of hdmi. not cheap but they have the right chips inside, it seems.

 

[El_Doug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emelius /img/forum/go_quote.gif so it is just as difficult as before ... well the player outputs dsd, the dac has dsd input...is there a solution forthcoming?... or is there a better way to input dsd into the dac via some other source?...

this article just came out on Audioholics, it's an item you may want to research further: Atlona Tech AT-HD570 HDMI (1.3) Audio De-Embedder

 

[emelius]

thanks to both yas...

i had already heard of gefen & was gonna check their site later tonight...***checked the site...their hdmi to toslink leaves the hdmi encoded...also, that other product does pcm (the oppo doesn't ever convert to pcm, it leaves it dsd)...thanks anyways, though...

there are a number of places modding the oppo already...perhaps one of those places will have a workaround...

i could let my TacT's ADC have a go

...

it's a shame as the oppo does have this source direct mode:
Quote:

Source Direct Mode - For users who wish to use an external video processor, high-end audio/video receiver or display, the BDP-83 offers a "Source Direct" mode. The original audio/video content on the discs is sent out with no additional processing or alteration.

anyways...maybe i'll sell it & get something with digital inputs...

let's see how tomorrow's dac sale goes

...

 

[BrianDonegan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emelius /img/forum/go_quote.gif so it is just as difficult as before ... well the player outputs dsd, the dac has dsd input...is there a solution forthcoming?... or is there a better way to input dsd into the dac via some other source?...

That's what I am trying to say. The player does not output DSD. It outputs an encrypted DSD stream only. It is encrypted according to the HDMI specification so that it cannot be used to copy high-res music. It is not a shortcoming of the DAC, and there is nothing we can do (legally) about it.

In order to decrypt HDMI, you need to obtain a license to do so and have your design approved. Part of the approval process (other than a huge fee) is that you do not expose the DSD streams where they would be copied. That is why no player will directly output DSD.

 

[digger945]

I don't see how you do it Brian. Moving, and all that comes with it, and still doing the Buffalo sales(and now it seems like all the other products are no longer "Out of Stock").
You are no doubt one busy bee.