Vanity203HD I2S link

[AP]

Hi all,
There have been some questions how to connect the I2S output from the Vanity[sup]203[/sup]HD board to a DAC with I2S input via HDMI or RJ45. Let's recap the I2S port description from the user manual:

For added flexibility the Vanity203HD features an on-board 14 pin IDC header with 8 channel I2S output, master-clock signal, ground and 3V3 power signals.

The master-clock signal is either 22.5792MHz or 24.576MHz depending on the base sample rate. The audio channel assignment across the SDATA signals is the same as the channels order at the main S/PDIF outputs. SDATA1 contains both front channels, SDATA2 carries the surround channels, SDATA3 carries the center and subwoofer channels and finally the SDATA4 contains the surround-back channels. The I2S output has standard 3V3 LVCMOS signaling levels. If the downstream DAC accepts different signaling type or levels (e.g. I2S over HDMI or I2S over UTP/STP Ethernet) the user has to provide a suitable conversion circuit.

There are two reasons why we didn't include a HDMI (or RJ45) connector with I2S signals directly. First, there is no unified pinout standard for I2S over HDMI. Different DACs have different pins assigned to different signals which makes it impossible to come up with something that would work for everyone. Second, there is no room or cutout for the HDMI connector in the back panel and we really wanted to keep the board as a drop-in replacement for the analogue board without any mechanical modifications.

But, if you want to use the I2S output, you can!

Electrically as well as mechanically the I2S requires just a bit of DIY. In order to feed your DAC with I2S you need a level converter module to convert standard 3V3 LVCMOS to HDMI signals (LVDS). The Vanity[sup]203[/sup]HD has been tested with Audio-GD I2S module and this module is used as an example in the connection diagram below.




The user has to make a custom connection between the on-board IDC connector and the HDMI output module. Please note that the signal assignment must match with the one on the receiver side and there is no universal guide for that. Always refer to the manual of your DAC.

Please feel free to discuss the I2S output topic in this thread and ask any questions.

Regards,
Pavel

[highstream]

Are there any step-by-step instructions for doing this? I'm not ignorant of electronics, but need to decide if I can do this particular job myself or need to get some help. Where does the HDMI-style port come into play? The output would go to a PS Audio Directstream dac I2S port. Thanks,

[highstream]

Are there any step-by-step instructions for doing this? I'm not ignorant of electronics, but need to decide if I can do this particular job myself or need to get some help. Where does the HDMI-style port come into play? The output would go to a PS Audio Directstream dac I2S port. Thanks,

[AP]

Hi highstream,
Please bear with us, hopefully we should have some step-by-step guide with photos ready soon. I assume the tricky part for most users will be deciding how to fit the HDMI output module to the player. You can either make a hole in the back panel for the HDMI connector and fixing screws or leave the HDMI module outside the player and use a flat ribbon cable (connected to the on-board IDC connector with I2S signals) going through one of the elongated vents. What would be your preference ?
Regards,
Pavel

[highstream]

For anyone in the U.S. or perhaps Canada interested in adding I2S/HDMI output, I can save you shipping cost and time on a new, unused Audio-gd I2S-HDMI output board. PM me.

[supersax]

Hi Pavel,

I just purchased a 203 with your Vanity card installed. Will you please give me information about the connector needed to mate with the on-board IDC (e.g., at least one brand and part number) for adding the external I2S so that I can source the proper component?

Thanks,

Dave

[AP]

Hi Dave,
It is a standard IDC/IDT wire to board receptacle (female) 2.54mm pitch 14pin connector:

[img]http://uk.farnell.com/productimages/standard/en_GB/2215249-40.jpg[/img]

Available from virtually all suppliers, [url=http://uk.farnell.com/amphenol/t812114a101ceu/socket-idc-s-relief-2-54mm-14way/dp/2215249]Amphenol part from Farnell[/url]

Regards,
Pavel

[crawf1982]

Hi All,

I have successfully paired my Vanity 203 HD with an Okto Research DAC8 via the I2S header. They made me a custom enclosure with a galvanically isolated 14 pin I2S input. A 14 pin ribbon cable fits nicely through the vents on the back of the Oppo player, so connecting the 2 units together was straightforward - images attached.

Initially I was experiencing audio dropouts as discussed in [url=http://www.audiopraise.com/forum/read.php?13,845]this thread[/url] but this was easily solved by placing an extra jumper on the DAC8 mainboard which set a wider DPLL bandwith.

I have now been able to remove the AV processor from my system and overall, I am extremely happy with this solution.

Further information on the DAC8 can be found here:

Okto Research website: http://www.oktoresearch.com/#home

Discussion topic on DIY Audio Forums (photos of my unit in post 29): https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/vendor-s-bazaar/326995-okto-dac8-performance-8-channel-module-sabre-es9028pro.html

Thanks,

David

[AP]

Hi David,
Thank you for your report. I am glad to see another instance of the I2S interface working. The DPPL bandwidth on Sabre chips is a known thing, hope you didn't spend too much time trying to figure out where the dropouts are coming from

Regards,
Pavel

[Mjay71]

Hi, Pavel. What are the resolution limits over I2S with the Oppo203/Vanity combo for PCM and DSD?

Thanks!