Any experience with using DDC with a optical source

Yelamanchili manohar

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Hi all :)

I've seen high praise for DDC's like the denafrips gaia etc, when used with usb sources. Has anyone tried with a optical source by any chance.

I listen mostly to native Indian tracks. Considering the lack of Indian content on tidal and qobuz, I've so far refrained from investing in the usual lumin and aurenders etc. I mainly stream from amazon music via Bluetooth to a Auris BlumeHD. Which feeds my dac via optical. So would adding a denafrips gaia in the chain, be of any benefit please. Thanks
 
I don’t fully understand your query but as far as using USB as my digital source of music I experimented not to directly connect it to the usb input of my R2R DAC but rather use the optical input of the DAC through a usb to optical converter.

That is, Laptop’s usb streaming Spotify - usb/optical converter - DAC - amplifier - speakers.

I found this way superior to Laptops usb - DAC - amplifier - speakers.

The digital gurus recommend optical input to DAC as the best approach to stop all the noise coming into the DAC. (ECDesigns)

My R2R DAC is quite versatile with all onboard inputs coax-optical-usb, however above sounded best with most silent background even on 105 dB speakers.

I am not sure if my reply is even relevant to your query….
He is talking about "digital to digital converters" which would reclock all data


Unfortunately i have not specifically tried what manohar has the query for, hence refrained from posting
 
Hi all :)

I've seen high praise for DDC's like the denafrips gaia etc, when used with usb sources. Has anyone tried with a optical source by any chance.

I listen mostly to native Indian tracks. Considering the lack of Indian content on tidal and qobuz, I've so far refrained from investing in the usual lumin and aurenders etc. I mainly stream from amazon music via Bluetooth to a Auris BlumeHD. Which feeds my dac via optical. So would adding a denafrips gaia in the chain, be of any benefit please. Thanks
I recently used Hermes with Terminator via macbook as source.
On Paper Terminator has a better Clock than Hermes, but after connection it was very palpable difference. The SQ was much cleaner and clearer, relaxed soothing. I don't see any reason why other digital sources can't be improved with a Ddc.
Irrespective of the genre investment in a good source ( DAC, Streamer and DDCs) almost always brings good SQ benefits. Your system is quite revealing and investing in a good source is a no-brainer. You can hold it for a while until your Vinyl Setup starts singing and you can invest in a streamer later on. Apple music is loseless nowadays, so invest in a good Streamer cum DAC if streaming is your main source.
 
I don’t fully understand your query but as far as using USB as my digital source of music I experimented not to directly connect it to the usb input of my R2R DAC but rather use the optical input of the DAC through a usb to optical converter.

That is, Laptop’s usb streaming Spotify - usb/optical converter - DAC - amplifier - speakers.

I found this way superior to Laptops usb - DAC - amplifier - speakers.

The digital gurus recommend optical input to DAC as the best approach to stop all the noise coming into the DAC. (ECDesigns)

My R2R DAC is quite versatile with all onboard inputs coax-optical-usb, however above sounded best with most silent background even on 105 dB speakers.

I am not sure if my reply is even relevant to your query….
I fully agree :)

I don't use usb anywhere in my chain. I used to use coaxial before. But recently switched to Bluetooth + optical :)
 
I recently used Hermes with Terminator via macbook as source.
On Paper Terminator has a better Clock than Hermes, but after connection it was very palpable difference. The SQ was much cleaner and clearer, relaxed soothing. I don't see any reason why other digital sources can't be improved with a Ddc.
Irrespective of the genre investment in a good source ( DAC, Streamer and DDCs) almost always brings good SQ benefits. Your system is quite revealing and investing in a good source is a no-brainer. You can hold it for a while until your Vinyl Setup starts singing and you can invest in a streamer later on. Apple music is loseless nowadays, so invest in a good Streamer cum DAC if streaming is your main source.
Hi karthik :)

The hermes will make a big difference when fed via usb, as it will clean up the usb out of the macbook. Besides, it will be slaved to the superior clocks of the terminator to reduce jitter further.

Coming to my usage case, the denafrips DDC's are designed to compliment the terminator, as their clocking frequencies are very different from what mutec, esoteric and Dcs use. Besides, since iam using optical, from a device running on WiFi, I guess I have less network noise via Lan, and less noise than normal Usb. This is where my confusion starts, if a DDC will still help via optical. Especially when it cannot be slaved to my dac, due to different clocking frequencies.

Yeah I've been lazy with the streaming source part for sometime now :D. Iam waiting for Deqx to announce their latest Pro8 HD active processor. It is supposed to come with an inbuilt streaming solution. And due in the 3rd quarter of this year. Will definitely be in Dcs Bartok territory price wise :(. But iam waiting for its release, before deciding my future course of action :)
 
I've seen high praise for DDC's like the denafrips gaia etc, when used with usb sources. Has anyone tried with a optical source by any chance.
Well I have tried Hermes with Marantz CD 6007 player ; Both optical and Coax Outputs to Hermes.
I Can definitely say there's a marked improvement in the SQ when the DAC is fed directly vs via DDC. Resolution and decay improves considerably. I'm going to get a Gaia Soon.
 
Well I have tried Hermes with Marantz CD 6007 player ; Both optical and Coax Outputs to Hermes.
I Can definitely say there's a marked improvement in the SQ when the DAC is fed directly vs via DDC. Resolution and decay improves considerably. I'm going to get a Gaia Soon.
That's great news karthik. Thanks a ton for trying it out and sharing your findings :)
 
For optical DDC, the ifi ipurifier is also good.
If someone has a decent dac, then it will make your dac sound even more expensive. But yes it too requires a good power supply of 5volts
 
Well I have tried Hermes with Marantz CD 6007 player ; Both optical and Coax Outputs to Hermes.
I Can definitely say there's a marked improvement in the SQ when the DAC is fed directly vs via DDC. Resolution and decay improves considerably. I'm going to get a Gaia Soon.
You mean SQ is better when you feed the DAC directly vs when you feed it via DDC?:confused:
 
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