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Hermes added, question

Hi, All,

 

Just a follow up on my thread last week about adding Hermes to my Pontus. All is connected and playing. I did do the left and right speaker check via Qobuz test tones and all are playing properly. I haven't sat for a critical listen yet as I want to give more burn in time. So whilst I'm not quite ready to give my impressions on any improvements, I did have a question.

 

I noticed on some tracks (not all) playing only when listening through my streamer (connected via USB running from Eversolo DMP-A6 Master into ADD-Powr Symphony In, then out from Symphony to Hermes USB In. Using I2S connecting between Pontus and Hermes. What I noticed is that on some tracks while streaming I detected some static/noise through mostly my right front speaker. I didn't notice this using Coax (CD player) or Optical (Brennan B2). Just on the streamer and again only certain tracks...

 

Any idea what could be causing this? Is the ADD-Powr possibly the culprit? The static/noise was never there before Hermes and I had ADD-Powr Symphony connected as above only direct to Pontus...Music still plays but on higher volume the noise is audible...

kingbr
kingbr OP
345 posts
 

@gkelly Thank you! Good info. That is awesome you met Bill. He seemed great, answered every question/email right away!

 

@audioman58 Thank you for the info. I did set Hermes to 000. I never set Ontis as everything seemed to be playing fine and the test tones for left and right, and phase all seemed fine. I am using DH Labs 2.1 HDMI/I2S. This cable specified I2S on their website.

 

I think I’m going to try going direct with my USB to Hermes and bypassing ADD Symphony. See if that helps then go from there…

 

Thank you All for taking the time to respond. So hoping it’s just a fluky thing and maybe USB bypassing will work as I’ll still have my Ethernet cable going through Symphony…

cforsythe
7 posts
 

I just got a Venus DAC, and it took some time to get it configured with my Hermes. Apparently, the pin lay out on HDMI cords is not standardized, so you have to configure the pin lay out using the controls on the DAC until you find the right one for your particular cable. If you go to the Denafrips website there’s a video where Alvin explains the steps needed to configure the pin layout for both the DDC and the DAC. I followed the steps and set the DDC to ‘000’ and then changed the settings on the DAC until I found the right pin combo for me it was ‘001’. I kept running a phase test after each change it made, but I did have a similar experience to you where the phase test was correct but I was getting a slight crackle in one of the speakers. You’re close but you have to change one of the pins. I hope this helps!

kingbr OP
345 posts
 

@cforsythe Thank you! That is super helpful as it sounds exactly like what I am getting! That is great to hear and I’ll try that first actually. Alvin from Vinshine also thought it was the I2S settings. What HDMI cable are you using?

cforsythe
7 posts
 

I initially used a Blue Jean hdmi and then I upgraded to a DH labs Reference HDMI. I believe I have the Hermes set to ‘000’ and the DAC set to ‘001’ and this worked for both cables. The DH labs cable was a nice upgrade for $110. I got a little bit better instrument separation which is the biggest difference I noticed going from AES/EBU to i2s. 

kingbr OP
345 posts
 

Thank you again @cforsythe. I also use DH Labs 2.1 HDMI...Very helpful indeed. I'll start with 001 on Pontus and go from there.

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