Description
I²S cable has been getting more popular over the years with the advent of DACs and DDCs that sport this connection as a full res transmission of signal between devices. And HDMI connector has been slowly standardised as the audio default for I²S, superseding the RJ45 which was more common in the last decade. While the current I²S pin out differs according to different DAC makers, we still are not going to utilise the entire 19/20 pins of HDMI purely for I²S. But like with many things in audio, it is not a bad thing to have more pins available as a future-proofing measure.
For the I²S cable here from QA, all GND pins are connected, as well as the DSD flag pins. There is no reason this I²S cable will not work in most cases as long as the pin-out configurations between the two devices are set to match – this is the utmost important step in connecting 2 devices with I²S connection.
We continue to use the trusted and high-quality Gotham digital cable for this build that pushes the capability of I²S cable and outperforms stock HDMI cables used for video. This strongly proves the point I²S cable is not merely any HDMI cable. Using a traditional HDMI cable as a I²S cable is no different from using any usual printer cable for connecting DACs – they work, but they will not be sufficient to bring out the quality of the DACs.
With individual insulation for each pair of cables inside the Gotham cable, the cable remains flexible despite having a 13mm O.D. The added sleeve may have caused the final cable to lose its flex slightly, but it also gives the cable much needed protection and a sleeker outlook. Terminations continued to be soldered meticulously, 16 points inside a small space, with WBT 4% silver solder. The huge, chromed metal shell of the HDMI connector is required to house the various internal cable soldering. On final assembly, solder points and connectors are held firmly in place with no movable parts, securely tightened with gold screws.
The final cable is one solid and hefty I²S HDMI cable. Care must be taken when connecting to small or light equipment, DDCs especially, as the strength and weight of the cable may ‘lift’ up the unit. While shorter cable is always ideal for digital connection, the rigidity of the cable may mean 50cm (the shortest possible length to make) may not be flexible enough to twist the cable properly in aligning the heads for connecting, depending on the orientation of the HDMI ports.1m to 1.5m is ideal in most circumstances.
Immediate sonic improvement should be evident on first plug-in of the I²S cable. Lower midrange is especially crystallised and defined, giving rise to a tighter emphasis of bass and more distinctive vocalisation. Background becomes more transparent for the higher frequencies to shine. It may be considered resolving for a certain minority of people, but with at least 80 hours of burn-in, the slight edge may be smoothened, resulting in a very pleasing and articulate sound signature. I²S is a digital cable afterall, so sounding clean and precise without fatiguing is a base characteristic.
With cables and connectors available, standard working lead time is 4-7 days due to the complexity of soldering and termination. If not, together with any restock necessary, lead time is about 2-3 weeks.
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