HDMI (i2s) recommendations for Denafrips Gaia -> Terminator

Thanks for the pointer. That one looks like a possibility. 

No one else using i2s over HDMI?

I've also looked at the Tubulus Argentus https://www.highendcableshop.com/product/tubulus-argentus-i2s-cable/ which has some recommendations on WBF. 

Thanks @docroasty. Do you have any comments on the differences between these cables. I had not heard of the phasure or pink faun cables before. 

Thanks for the info. I'm tempted by the Tubulus, but I'm hoping to use a shorter length since I've heard from other Denafrips owners that longer connections can have issues. 

I assume that the AQ Vodka you had was not the Vodka 48? How would you compare this to the Tubulus? I'm not considering the Vodka, but as I mentioned in my OP, I am thinking of one of AQ's higher end cables. But I would just-as-soon spend less if there is a better (or at least comparable) option for less money. 

I've never really been an AQ fan (from a price-performance perspective), but their volume (and factory machinery) allows them to make cables with very high build quality, and I think an i2s cable is going to be particularly sensitive to this since i2s was never intended to be used for box-to-box communication and has no error correction. 

I have an AQ Diamond USB cable that does sound better than other USB cables I've tried.

That's good to hear that you didn't have problems with the longer tubulus cable. Did you have a change to compare the Vodka 48 to the Tubulus?

My Gaia should arrive Monday or Tuesday and I'm going to try it out with the AES cable I have first, and maybe a cheapo HDMI cable, before I decide how to proceed. 

Thanks for your comments and recommendations. 

I am aware of the issues with i2s, and agree that keeping the cable length short is desirable.

Most devices that support I2S between boxes (including the Denafrips products) use additional buffering (generally LVDS - low voltage differential signaling) which can support cable lengths of 2-3 meters.

As you point out, the longer the cable length, the more likely that slight differences in cable length and propagation delay will cause skew between the clock and data signals. Also, LVDS only has a modest amount of common-mode noise rejection, so the longer the cable, the more likely external noise will interfere with the signal. 

With my DCC and DAC on shelves one above the other, I can get away with a 0.75m cable (even one that is fairly stiff), so that's what I'm looking for.

I'm a little leery about buying a hand-made cable since the consistency of the individual conductors lengths, twisting, and shielding will all have an impact on the amount of skew between signals.

I think this is the only type of cable used in audio where clock and data are transmitted separately and where there is no error detection/correction, so example-to-example differences (particularly for a hand-made cable) may be more significant for this type of cable than any other type of audio cable. 

@docroasty - I appreciate your input. It does give me a bit more confidence to try one or two of the artisan cables. At least many of these are specifically intended for use as an i2s interconnect, which is more than you can say about AQ. As you point out, they aren't that expensive in the scheme of things, and are considerably less than I'd pay for the higher-end AQ cables. 

For now, I'm going to hold off on making a decision and see how well the Gaia works over AES to my Terminator. I've got a bunch of generic HDMI cables hanging around that I may try just to see how well it works. 

Still hoping my Gaia will arrive Monday, but Fedex hasn't confirmed a delivery date yet.

@docroasty - took your advice and ordered a 0.75m Tubulus Argentus. Thanks for the help. 

My Gaia arrived yesterday, so I've only got about 24 hours on it, but it's definitely an improvement. Imaging is sharper, a bit more detail, and bass has more weight and texture. I can't wait to see what it can do with a better i2s cable. 

- Jay