Have New L.K.S. HM-DA9038 with Oppo95 won't play SACD's, HDMI input on DAC is for 12S data

@dhollywood,

I’m the OP on the original LKS thread.

Yes the "hdmi" input on the LKS is NOT what we usually think of as hdmi. It is an i2s input. It will not properly receive an ordinary hdmi signal.

The problem with playing SACDs is NOT with the LKS. It is rather with the disk player, which I assume to be your Oppo. The Oppo is restricted by Sony from outputting SACD files (.dsf) through its coaxial or optical outputs.  You can blame Sony for having made our lives more complicated.

To play SACD files on the LKS (and they do sound GREAT on the LKS) you have to rip them and play them as .dsf files. Most do that by ripping to a hard disk and using some kind of device to input them to the Amanero board on the LKS through the USB input. I use a simple lap-top computer. But there are lots of other devices.

.dsf files can also go in through the LKS’s i2s inputs, but devices that do that are not so common. The Amanero board actually converts the USB input to i2s.

Thanks so much for the response. I do really like this DAC even only after a few days and a feel on tuning everything in with the different filters, and with my Dbx-360, etc... I Knew about that Sony's restrictions on SACD's, that why when I say the HDMI input, I thought perfect, I can now transfer the SACD Data from the Oppo to the DAC, and then have the ability to use the Balanced XLR's. Wth the use of the mono ESS9038's, and everything else they have done with the DAC
, I really saw a lot it had to offer. I really don't have that many SACD's that I couldn't do as you mentioned. But my other issue is a big one, I'm a Mac guy, and when I saw that streaming through L. K. S that "Need" 
10.6 IOS + I assumed that it would run with the latest running operating system of the IOS , which for me wasn't a issue. I can't get it to stream from my laptop "Tidal", or anything else. I then did some more researching and found that someone said that it Doesn't operate with the IOS platform, Mac's, and for me that all I use. I see that there are some Mod's being done with these new L.K.S DAC with what I read are some great improvements to already a great DAC. Is there anyone doing any kind of Mods to them, or do are you aware of what can be done to make it work with Mac's. I may need to return it. I may just go to a dedicated CD/SACD player with hopes I can find one that can match the quality of what this has to offer and stream music with Mac. Again, right now I'm using the Oppo 95 as the transport which I love the ease of operating with the remote and sound that I get with the Oppo 95 for now. I'm thinking a cd/sacd player like the Yamaha cd2000/2100 , Marantz hi end SACD/CD players, etc..
I really do like what this L.K.S. HM-DA004 sounds like, and what it has under the hood, Like the  twin mono ESS9038 . I just can't image what it can do after reading about some of the mods being done to it now.
Really appreciate the input.

Couple of things. There are people that will mod anything, and the spacious layout of the LKS just feeds that hobby. Yet in its un-modded form it has been compared to the very best and the very expensive. The mods being done are quite sophisticated--at the moment over at head-fi, substituting in a new femto-clock.

I am surprised that you have had trouble with the ios. Given that you meet the Mac OSX 10.6+ requirement, I would have thought it would be simple, and much easier than Windows for which a driver has to be installed. LKS usually also recommends a program like JRiver or Foobar. I’m pretty sure you will need one of these to set the right output. Before you decide to give up on it, I would recommend that you write to the designer. He is Jinbo at LKS. Email: bleerock@126.com His English is excellent and he will try to help by email. Could be a day or two turn-around. He has explained things very clearly to me when I needed help.

If you want to play disks I guess that’s OK, but if you can get the Amanero board to respond to your computer, you may find it so much more convenient to rip all of your disks and play them from a hard disk. There are lots of ways to do it, but I bypass my Oppo 105 and use JRiver and control the whole process from my phone. Even if you want to use the the Oppo and its coax output, if you rip your pcm disks you can play them controlling from your phone using the Oppo app. Most people I run into believe the SQ is better that way than playing the disk directly. I certainly do.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out.

I play SACDs from my Oppo 105 into my Bryston DAC3, which has 4 HDMI inputs.  The Oppo is set to send DSD from SACD into the DAC over HDMI.
NAD also makes a DAC with true HDMI inputs for about half the cost of the Bryston.

@mahler123,

The Briston costs about $2000 more than the LKS,  Not to mention an extra $250 for its remote control.  Really!  The LKS has a much more robust power supply and a fully discrete balanced analog section.  Comes with a remote.  I guess one could argue the relative merits of the DAC chips and clocks used in each.  Much too much of a premium though simply to have the hdmi input for a few disks.

Besides, why would anyone in 2019 want to deal routinely with silver disks for audio, except as a file delivery device?.  With your Oppo you can easily rip the DSD disks

Which NAD DAC are you referring to?