Paradisea Lost - USB to Toslink, RCA, or BNC

[Perplexed1ne]

I am not talking about Milton. For years I have enjoyed my little MHDT Lab Paradisea sitting between my Mac’s and my amplifiers. Mac’s have come and gone. Amplifiers have come and gone. The Paradisea has kept the music going.

Now, my newest Mac does not have Toslink. I am limited to USB or HDMI. Sadly, my Paradisea has neither. I have seen USB to Toslink converters but have not read anything about how well they do, nor about their audio quality. The Paradisea has Toslink, RCA, and BNC digital inputs. I have done several searches of this forum and am not having any luck. I would appreciate being pointed to a thread I may have missed and/or welcome any and all advise.

Thank you

 

[BesPav]

This one helps, but you will need some soldering skills.
I2SoverUSB - I2S over USB Audio

 

[Perplexed1ne]

Thank you for your support! While I can solder reasonably well, my lack of digital electronics knowledge puts me on an insurmountable learning curve. I could fix and maintain all of my cars in the 70's and 80's, but by the 90's they were increasingly complex and required specialized tools. Audio has followed this same curve.

I was looking at completed boxes on Amazon and Ebay and found several that use this chip but I am unsure of implementation and quality issues.

I am unsure if I found anyone who are using this specific board but there are several who have units to sell that incorporate this chip. Recommendations welcomed.

 

[abraxalito]

This is boxed, ready to go and has both Toslink and S/PDIF coaxial outputs.

https://detail.tmall.com/item.htm?spm=a230r.1.14.9.6d2c5362Dcpdao&id=589631719024&cm_id=140105335569ed55e27b&abbucket=4

 

[Perplexed1ne]

Thank you for the link. For some reason it is not working for me. Please give it another go.

 

[abraxalito]

Here's the same thing but on another site : Latest HIFI Audio CM6631A Digital interface 32 / 24Bit 192K Sound Card USB to I2S IIS/ SPDIF Optical Coaxial Output Decoder DAC|interface|interface usb|interface sound card - AliExpress

 

[Perplexed1ne]

Unless I am missing something, that looks like a very sweet little DAC. Back when I last looked into any new equipment I could not have bought a cable for the cost of this puppy.

But I am hunting a digital interface that will input USB and output SPDIF for my 12 year old tube/hybrid Paradisea DAC.

This interface I found on Ebayis currently leading my hunt.

xmos xu208 digital interface LT3042 regulated power supply IIS DSD coaxial fiber | eBay

I have never been on Ali Express and I will continue looking. I imagine this unit has its variations/duplicates there as well. We are all hunkered down and mostly at home. Plenty of time to explore.

Cheers!

 

[abraxalito]

It does have DAC functionality but that's done with a very cheap ES9023 chip so more of an afterthought. The main functions are various digital outputs from the USB input. Perhaps the same unit will show up on eBay if that's your preferred source.

 

[Perplexed1ne]

From the picture of the unit it looks like there is only RCA phono on the output. The written copy was unclear to me.

What am I missing?

 

[abraxalito]

On one end you have RCA and 3.5mm socket for analog outputs. On the other end there are two USB inputs and S/PDIF coax and Toslink outputs.

 

[Perplexed1ne]

I assumed that one end would be input, and the other end output. If both ends are output where is the input? Sorry, I can be thick, and you are being a good sport.

 

[abraxalito]

One end has both inputs (USB) and outputs (S/PDIF). The other end has only outputs (RCA, 3.5mm). The distinction between the ends is not input/output rather analog/digital.