Audiophile Sunday Tip #26: The best digital connection

[Fiftyfifty]

Optical, coaxial, AES/EBU, USB: each has its strengths and trade-offs, and not every DAC or system responds the same way. Resolution on paper is one thing; musical coherence, timing, and ease of listening are another.
My takeaway has been simple: don’t go by specs or popular opinion alone. Try different connections in your own system, even if only for a day, and see which one feels right.
Curious to hear what others here have found in their setups.
A quick note on I²S:
I haven’t included I²S here because it’s far less standardised. Pin-outs, implementations, and compatibility vary widely between brands, and results are often system-specific.

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Cheers!

 

[DS123]

Thanks for the info!

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

In my humble opinion, most modern dacs ( within the last few years ) when fed by the USB output of a decent streamer might sound best via USB, because of the advances made in USB input boards by XMOS and Amanerro, with superior clocking and galvanic isolation. Not to mention, this is also the shortest and closest signal path from the I2S convertor of the USB board to the Dac chip.

Where the USB output of the streamer is not upto scratch, then I2S might sound better. Again depending on the quality of the I2S conversion of the DDC, and its internal power supplies and clocking. And also the DAC, needs to have the option of switching-off its PLL ( Phase loop lock ), where it discards its internal clock and use the superior clock of the DDC, for maximum benefit. As can be seen, the USB to I2S conversion of the DDC, has to be superior to the internal conversion and clocks of the DAC.

However, for slightly older dacs, when paired with a decent streamer, then Spdif especially Aes-Ebu might sound best.

As can be seen, too many variables. And I might be completely wrong. So best to try and see.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

In my humble opinion, most modern dacs ( within the last few years ) when fed by the USB output of a decent streamer might sound best via USB, because of the advances made in USB input boards by XMOS and Amanerro, with superior clocking and galvanic isolation. Not to mention, this is also the shortest and closest signal path from the I2S convertor of the USB board to the Dac chip.

Where the USB output of the streamer is not upto scratch, then I2S might sound better. Again depending on the quality of the I2S conversion of the DDC, and its internal power supplies and clocking. And also the DAC, needs to have the option of switching-off its PLL ( Phase loop lock ), where it discards its internal clock and use the superior clock of the DDC, for maximum benefit. As can be seen, the USB to I2S conversion of the DDC, has to be superior to the internal conversion and clocks of the DAC.

However, for slightly older dacs, when paired with a decent streamer, then Spdif especially Aes-Ebu might sound best.

As can be seen, too many variables. And I might be completely wrong. So best to try and see.

Good points @Yelamanchili manohar . Modern USB implementations with XMOS/Amanero and good isolation have indeed improved a lot in recent years.
As you rightly say, implementation matters more than the protocol itself, and the final answer is often system dependent.
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Cheers!

 

[bornfi]

Just wanted to share my experiences with various DACs, right from Schiit to Bricasti to Weiss to dCS and I have found coax/AES to be best. It just sounds natural compared USB. The sway-ness of the music simply vanishes on USB, it just feels etched to me.

Based on whatever I have learnt reading over the internet is that USB is actually one more conversion layer added before data reach to DAC chip. I2S is closest to the chip while AES is one step away and USB is one more, if not more steps away.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Just wanted to share my experiences with various DACs, right from Schiit to Bricasti to Weiss to dCS and I have found coax/AES to be best. It just sounds natural compared USB. The sway-ness of the music simply vanishes on USB, it just feels etched to me.

Based on whatever I have learnt reading over the internet is that USB is actually one more conversion layer added before data reach to DAC chip. I2S is closest to the chip while AES is one step away and USB is one more, if not more steps away.

Very true... music in its native form is encoded as LPCM. Spdif can transfer this format directly without conversion, where the spdif receiver chip in the dac, converts LPCM to I2S.
Where as USB is a data file transferred in bits / fixed time. These bits have to be assembled, then data decoded to LPCM, then coverted to I2S and sent to Dac chip. So streamers with good design and well optimised LPCM to spdif conversion, usually sound best via Spdif, especially AES/EBU.

 

[Kannan]

Just wanted to share my experiences with various DACs, right from Schiit to Bricasti to Weiss to dCS and I have found coax/AES to be best. It just sounds natural compared USB. The sway-ness of the music simply vanishes on USB, it just feels etched to me.

Based on whatever I have learnt reading over the internet is that USB is actually one more conversion layer added before data reach to DAC chip. I2S is closest to the chip while AES is one step away and USB is one more, if not more steps away.

Isolate USB galvanically at source, and all problems go away