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Denafrips Terminator Plus/Gaia compatibility

I have an original Terminator Plus and and Gaia DDC (very early unit). I had been using this with an i2s connection which worked well, but after upgrading the firmware on the Terminator Plus in 2023 using the update provided by Vinshine, the i2s connection stopped working.

I assume this is because the i2s configuration changed. I have tried changing the i2s mode on the DAC, but have been unable to find a setting that works with the Gaia. My Gaia does not have programmable i2s outputs. 

I have been using the AES connection between the Gaia and DAC which sounds very nice, but before the firmware update, I felt that the i2s was a bit better than AES. 

I am toying with the idea of upgrading my Gaia to a Gaia 12th with the assumption that I can make this work over i2s to my DAC. 

Does anyone have experience with this issue? 

 

jaytor
jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
778 posts
 

@rikkipuu - 

Thanks for your reply. I'm glad I'm not the only one that had this issue. 

I've been using the  Gaia connected via AES/EBU since upgrading the firmware. Before the firmware update, I thought i2s sounded a bit better than AES, but I like the sound of the new firmware with AES better than before the update with i2s, so I haven't wanted to revert back. 

I have really gotten into DIY in the past few years, and, other than the power regenerator, the DAC is the last commercial component left in my system. I am working on a new DAC design/build and I'm hoping I like the way it sounds at least as much as the Denafrips. 

knock1
360 posts
 

Can't the I2S coniguration on Terminator be changed? It is changable on Venus II.

jaytor's avatar
jaytor OP
778 posts
 

@knock1 - yes, supposedly, but I was not able to find a setting that worked with the Gaia. When I contacted Vinshine (they were still the distributor then), they said the original Gaia was not compatible with firmware upgrade.

rikkipuu's avatar
rikkipuu
354 posts
 

I agree S/PDIF sounds better.  The USB was noisy.

knock1
360 posts
 

@jaytor Got it. Luckily for me having Gaia 12th I was able to configure its I2S so it communicates with Venus II.

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