Good Afternoon All,

I would like to investigate the Buffalo III 8 channel board.
I have incorporated LeonvB's responses in blue italics to make reading his responses easier (for me at least).

1. When I look at the Integration Guide it appears that I cannot input SPDIF and I2S/DSD inputs and still have multichannel capability, because the Sidecar is only compatible with Stereo Signals. Is this correct?
>>>If you want to use the Sidecar: that's stereo only.

2. To get multichannel performance do I need to limit myself to:

• 2a. a single Toslink or SPDIF coax, or
  
• 2b. plopping a single Teleporter into my single desired DVD player and transporting this to my DAC (also with teleporter), or
  
• 2c. USB>I2S - from my Mac Mini via an Amanero (I know very little about this arrangement)?
  

2a. Not possible, S/PDIF is not multichannel.
2b. A single Teleporter will not give you 8 channels.
2c. Could work.

3. If I am just going to go stereo and I want the following inputs:

• Coax SPDIF consumer, and
  
• Toslink * 2 - 3, and
  
• USB>I2S (from my Mac Mini via Amanero),

then my best guess is that I will need (to show that at least I have tried):

• SPDIF - 4 input board
  
• Sidecar
  
• Selector switch
  
• 2 - 3 Toslink converters.

>>>>3. I would skip the 4 input board and use a single board, but that is correct.

4. Is the arrangement a lot simpler if my inputs are:

• USB>I2S, and
  
• Toslink?

4a. My guess is:

• One channel SPDIF board
  
• Sidecar
  
• Selector switch
  
• Toslink converter,

which is not a lot simpler, really.
>>>>>>4a. Yes, but you can forget about the SPDIF board. Use the TTL level output of the Toslink module and feed it to the Sidecar.

4b. Why go through all of this pain? I have discovered a group of people using Buffalo III with a little digital crossover to drive their Linkwitz Orion and LX521 speakers, so all of a sudden I am keen to keep the 8 channel capability of the Buffalo (in case I want to go down that path one day). Also I do not want to unnecessarily be limited to stereo in case I want to play with multichannel source material.
>>>>4b. I would build a DAC specificly for that setup, in all other cases you'll end up with something sub-optimal. You'll use 4 I/V boards for Multi-channel, or you have to wait for an 8 channel I/V stage (who knows when that ships). For stereo, you'll use longer leads and a lower signal level (if you don't combine outputs) or you'll get even longer total leads and a complex switching solution.
Regards,
George.

P.S. I apologize for being so behind the times on this.

Edited by user Tuesday, August 27, 2013 5:54:24 AM(UTC)  | Reason: Added numbers to coincide with LvB's thoughtful response below

Thanks Leon for your very complete answer to my question. (It took me a few weeks to work out what the question really was!)

If I eventually want to make a multichannel DAC, does this mean that I can only use one type of input for each DAC:

1. I2S OR
   
2. DSD.
   

and I therefore have to put the DAC actually INSIDE whatever device (Bluray player/CD Player/DVD player/Other) to get multi-channel output. In other words, I have to hardwire my source equipment to the DAC because there are no switching options available and I2S and DSD need very short wires.

Is that correct?

By the way, I would like to thank you for your work on the integration manual. It is much appreciated by all of us.

Regards,
George.

P.S. My thought about the teleporter was so that I could put minimal new equipment in the source equipment's case. Oh well.

Edited by user Tuesday, August 27, 2013 8:10:01 AM(UTC)  | Reason: nicer wording

No, you don't have to put the DAC inside the source. But you can't use a single teleporter: you are using more channels so you need 2 teleporters at each end. I2S and DSD aren't exactly standard interfaces for consumer electronics, so you'll have to hack your way into a player. But you could also use a USB module to get both I2S and DSD to the DAC, from a PC.

Thanks for the kind words.