I've been browsing my options for a DIY laptop-to-DAC setup, and I happened upon the specs of DisplayPort. I'm fairly new to digital audio, but the specs are promising. Having up to 8 channels of 24/192 audio sounds good to me! Also, unlike HDMI, no licensing is required. The PCM signal seems easy to deal with as well, and from what I understand can interface directly to I2S. So- exactly how feasible is this, mainly in terms of interfacing and sound quality? The DAC chips I have on hand for testing (on SMD to DIP adapter boards) are AD1955, AD1852, PCM1789, and PCM1795, so any work I do in the immediate future goes through them. My laptop runs Windows 7 and Xubuntu (Ubuntu bundled with Xfce), and I have access to Macs, so I can develop on any platform if needed.
Anyway, here's an overview of my questions:
-Would it be doable?
-Are there any significant advantages/disadvantages compared to other options, like USB to I2S to DAC?
-Again, I apologize for my lack of digital experience, but can the DisplayPort signals be electrically isolated? This isn't especially important to me, but many others seem to feel differently, and it couldn't hurt.
-How well does PCM actually translate to I2S?
-Would I need any unusual drivers? Could it work on any operating system?
I'm happy to hear other suggestions of course, but bear in mind that I'm a poor student (I can't afford the good stuff!). My main goals are portability (so a relatively small form factor and near-universal connectivity are big plusses) and ease of development/use. I wouldn't mind converting my entire music library (mostly rips from the CD's of friends and family) to a certain format (like 16/48 or 24/92) if that would simplify things.
And, of course, sorry if this question has already been asked, but from what I've seen so far nobody even talks about DisplayPort in the dark realm of hifi.
Thanks in advance for your input!
Anyway, here's an overview of my questions:
-Would it be doable?
-Are there any significant advantages/disadvantages compared to other options, like USB to I2S to DAC?
-Again, I apologize for my lack of digital experience, but can the DisplayPort signals be electrically isolated? This isn't especially important to me, but many others seem to feel differently, and it couldn't hurt.
-How well does PCM actually translate to I2S?
-Would I need any unusual drivers? Could it work on any operating system?
I'm happy to hear other suggestions of course, but bear in mind that I'm a poor student (I can't afford the good stuff!). My main goals are portability (so a relatively small form factor and near-universal connectivity are big plusses) and ease of development/use. I wouldn't mind converting my entire music library (mostly rips from the CD's of friends and family) to a certain format (like 16/48 or 24/92) if that would simplify things.
And, of course, sorry if this question has already been asked, but from what I've seen so far nobody even talks about DisplayPort in the dark realm of hifi.
Thanks in advance for your input!