Here are the first screen grabs I have of the system working 100% with speakers and amplifiers going with sound coming out. Even if it is the optical input instead of the I2S (USB) it still sounds excellent!! The source is 48kHz/16-bit which is what the ES9038 selects also. The limit for optical in is 24-bit 96kHz compared to USB (I2S) 32-bit 384 kHz.

Tomorrow I will have most of the parts I need to put the Amanero in for good including the 90 degree USB adapter to point away from the I2S pins. So once I have the full glory of the ES9038 DAC with I2S, I will begin the breakdown of the discrete op-amps on the chopping block!

System includes:
Yamaha RX-V863 Receiver
Polk Audio Monitor 70 (Floor Standing)
Modded/Upgraded Creative SoundBlaster ZXr (see initial review)
Burson Audio Cable+ RCA to RCA (Active Op-Amp) Cable

My 9028 does 24/192 optical…. Yours should too.
It does, the source is just 48 kHz. I thought I mentioned the limits of optical vs. USB as 24/96?