[Lwxian]

Hi James,
Is bda3 hdmi compatible with the i2s standard? There are many new players that come with i2s hdmi out. And I understand that bda3 uses dsd over hdmi for all 4 hdmi input. What is the difference and if i2s hdmi out with dsd signal could be read by bda3 hdmi in?
If it doesn’t, is there such a converter that could convert i2s signal to dsd over hdmi?
Thanks!

[James Tanner]

Hi Lwxian

There's no such thing as an I2S standard but some companies seem to have adopted the protocol used by PS Audio which uses an HDMI connector for I2S transport.
It has nothing to do with HDMI, they just use that same connector for a different purpose.

james

[Lwxian]

Thanks James!
Did not know i2s is a ps audio thing… in the description for bryston bda 3.14, it stated that “We've merged our BDP and BDA platforms into this one new product that starts with our BDA-3 and adds a high quality streamer internally connected with I²S - the most accurate digital interconnection method currently available. “ Hence, i thought i2s is a bryston standard as well.
So just to confirm that the bda hdmi in is not i2s? So we cannot connect any player with i2s hdmi out to bryston bda’s hdmi in right and there is no convertor for it?
Thanks for sharing the knowledge! So much to learn from the expert!

[R. Daneel]

Thanks James!
Did not know i2s is a ps audio thing… in the description for bryston bda 3.14, it stated that “We've merged our BDP and BDA platforms into this one new product that starts with our BDA-3 and adds a high quality streamer internally connected with I²S - the most accurate digital interconnection method currently available. “ Hence, i thought i2s is a bryston standard as well.
So just to confirm that the bda hdmi in is not i2s? So we cannot connect any player with i2s hdmi out to bryston bda’s hdmi in right and there is no convertor for it?
Thanks for sharing the knowledge! So much to learn from the expert!

That’s the hassle – in absence of a unified standard, even a minor deviation from what someone else had done can make two products completely incompatible. There are other companies using the HDMI connector to transmit I^2S signal but there is no guarantee a PS Audio product would work with a product from a different brand.

To be sure, I don’t even think there is evidential proof that I^2S is a superior to established standards – because measuring equipment is designed to measure according to those standards. I^2S is a standard developed for signal transmission within a circuit (inside the actual chip), not to transmit the signal between a transport and a D-A convertor.

Cheers – Antun

[James Tanner]

Thanks James!
Did not know i2s is a ps audio thing… in the description for bryston bda 3.14, it stated that “We've merged our BDP and BDA platforms into this one new product that starts with our BDA-3 and adds a high quality streamer internally connected with I²S - the most accurate digital interconnection method currently available. “ Hence, i thought i2s is a bryston standard as well.
So just to confirm that the bda hdmi in is not i2s? So we cannot connect any player with i2s hdmi out to bryston bda’s hdmi in right and there is no convertor for it?
Thanks for sharing the knowledge! So much to learn from the expert!

Hi - Correct HDMI is not I2S. In the 3.14 we do use an I2S signal out to the DAC but it is an internal connection so we can optimize that connection.

james

[Lwxian]

Thanks James! Understand. So i2s over hdmi port signal is different from dsd over hdmi port. So it is not compatible.

[sfraser]

That is the nice thing about "standards".....there are so many to choose from 😉