Denafrips FPGA Firmware Update

A quick update on the I2S connection issue for Iris DDC and T-plus running V3.7. Denefrips said they would no longer work on a firmware fix for the old (my bought in Oct 2021) DDC since it is replaced by the new 12th Ed. I bought a new Iris DDC 12th, installed it last night and tested for both PCM and DSD playback. It is now working perfectly via I2S connection to T-Plus running V3.7. The pinout configuration remains as 000, I did have to switch DSD right/left channel set up. Very happy with the sound so far, better than USB direct connection and also better than the old DDC I2S -> T-Plus running V1.0.. Will evaluate more after a few days.

@liangx5  Glad to hear you ended up better than you started with the new firmware and Iris 12th with I2S.

I sold my TP and Iris due to the conflict between the two and because I had purchased another DAC.  I recently purchased another DDC and am using SPDIF on BNC connectors.  The BNC connection sounds fundamentally different than the USB from the TP or my new DAC and also similarly different from the I2S sound.

I wish I had tried the SPDIF before selling the Iris now.  It took a few weeks for the BNC to settle to its best but I knew right away I preferred it to USB.  The only downside is no DSD and max rate is 192.

I don't understand the differences between synchronous and asynchronous but I am now a believer that converting USB or Ethernet with a DDC is beneficial.

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I recently installed the 3rd version (version 3.5) of the firmware update for the Venus II 12th anniversary. This one is supposed to flesh out the midrange and upper bass a bit. So far, I really like - I think the folks as Vinshine really nailed it.

I will say that it took a bit of emailing back and forth to Vinshine to make the update work on my mac - there was something wrong in the file name when I tried to run the install file. BUT - now that it's fixed, I can say really worth the effort. 

Only a few hours in but my impressions are that the mid range does indeed feel a bit more warm and dense. The clarity and detail are still there, but the sound is a bit  more rich, which is what I like. 

One interesting takeaway from this is that the FPGA chip that drives a DAC does in fact do something akin to equalization. That is, it must be giving some kind of weight to different frequencies when decoding the digital file, and I bet that all DACs do this to some degree, but the companies don't want to publicize this much as they know many audiophiles view any kind of equalization as a mortal sin.

What do folks think??

@liangx5  It was very interesting reading your results with' the iris and t+.  I recently read a review by another iris/t+ owner that had a different outcome.  I don't remember which update he did but after the update he sold his iris and went back to usb direct saying that sq was better using usb without the iris. I'm about to buy a t+ and will be going from an Aurender streamer via usb directly to the t+  i'm going to try to find the review i mention to see what version update was used and for that matter that I didn't misunderstand what he said to begin with.  I guess like the old saying goes, ymmv:-).

@marco1 Was that also Iris DDC 12th? The version of DDC could make a difference, I think, since the new 12th has some improvements e.g. power supply, new FPGA chip, etc. I could not compare the two DDCs since the old one is not compatible with my T+ after updating to firmware V3.7. I also remember hearing improvements over USB direct when I first installed the old Iris DDC 2 years ago, that time my T+ was running on V1.0 fpga firmware. BTW, I have clock sync set up so the DDC is using T+'s OCXO clock instead its internal TCXO clock.