CommentStreams:C84b9777e4827e4fc5f83fc160141386

I have received the X6000, and tested it. I will give a summary then details. Even though I gave a detailed description of the X6000's EP91A6S processor, the datasheet for the EP91A6S there was not enough information about the HDR signals at the IIS buses about whether the audio processor in the EP91A6S converts the HBR signals such as Dolby-HD and DTS-MA to PCM. That is because the ES9023 DACs require a PCM input.

Summary: The X6000 can be used with a non-Raspberry Pi. That is one can connect a blu-ray player's hdmi output to the input of the X6000 and the hdmi output of the X6000 to the hdmi input of the TV. The power was sourced from a 5V(dc) 5A power supply.

Issue: will the X6000 play 7.1 multi-channel sound through the 3.5mm analogue connections. The answer is yes and no. If you want to play multichannel sound from the blu-ray player to the X6000's analogue outputs, YOU MUST SET THE BLU-RAY's HDMI AUDIO TO PCM.

It follows that if you want to hear Dolby-HD and DTS-MA through the analogue 3.5mm sockets, your blu-ray player must convert the Dolby-HD and DTS-MA signals to PCM. DO NOT SET YOUR PLAYER's HDMI AUDIO OUTPUT TO bitstream.

When the description says supports Dolby-HD and DTS-MA, it refers to the X6000 passing it out through the X6000's hdmi output. In this situation, the audio from the X6000's hdmi should go to an amplifier that will decode Dolby-HD and DTS-MA. In this situation you set the blu-ray player's hdmi audio output to bistream.

BUT if you want to have multichannel analogue sound from the X6000, the blu-ray's hdmi audio must be set to PCM. If you set the player's hdmi audio to bitsream, you will hear noise.

Will all blu-ray players support multi-channel conversion of Dolby-HD and DTS-MA to multi-channel PCM? NO. Some LG players downmix such as the LG BP125, BP325, BP420, BP450 only have 2-channel PCM conversion of Dolby-HD and DTS-MA. So these LG models won't let you take advantage of the X6000's 7.1 channel PCM decoding.

It follows that to get 7.1 multi-channel sound from the 3.5mm analogue outputs, YOU MUST SET YOUR BLU-RAY PLAYER TO PCM provided that your blu-ray player can convert Dolby-HD and DTS-MA to PCM.

What happens if I set my player's hdmi audio to bitstream and what happens at the 3.5mm analogue output? Noise and buzzing. This is regardless of sampling frequency of 48kHz, 96kHz or 192kHz.

Two other issues, 5.1 channels from the SPDIF and the Raspberry Pi.

5.1 channels from the SPDIF is not the same as Dolby-HD and DTS-MA even if the HD and MA signals are 5.1 channels. Audio from the SPDIF has 5.1 maximum channels and is lossy audio compared to HD and MA being lossless.

What about the Raspberry Pi ('RPi'): I did not buy the X6000 to be used with the RPi. Suffice to say there is so much confusion as to whether the RPi's hdmi audio output decoding of HD and MA signals are converted to PCM inside the RPi and outputted as PCM through the RPi's hdmi or bitstreamed at a sample frequency of 48kHz.

From my experience of using the device, it is likely that the RPi decodes all multi-channel formats to LPCM on the RPi then sends this LPCM stream over the hdmi.

In a similar vein, another person at https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=115052.0 bragged about using his PC using a JRiver media-centre. Though the writer boasted about connecting "....it to HDMI and it will provide you LPCM 2/5.1/7.1CH, Dolby Digital 5.1CH, DTS 5.1CH, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio all up to 24/192" the author did not specify whether the HDMI of the X6000 was the input or output and whether the author's amplifier decoded the audio.

SUMMARY:

• The X6000 can be used with a blu-ray player as input via the X6000's hdmi input.

• To listen to the audio at the 3.5mm analogue output, the hdmi input signal must be LPCM. This is because the X6000 does not decode the Dolby-HD and DTS-MA (whether 5.1 ch or 7.1ch).

• Therefore you must set your blu-ray player's hdmi audio to PCM and let the player decode the HD and MA signal to PCM.

• If the player's HDMI is set to bitstream, you will hear buzzing on the 3.5mm analogue. HOWEVER, if you don't want to hear through the analogue 3.5mm output, you can set the player to bitstream, the bitstream will go through the X6000's hdmi output which can be decoded by an amplifier with hdmi decoding Dolby-HD and DTS-MA.

Also, as I said in a previous post, if you shop around for the X6000, this is the best HDMI LPCM audio extractor on the market, much lower in cost than the CLUX-11SA and its equivalent A3080 and better quality sound.

Thank you, Anthony of Sydney