Optical Out

[blawhh]

Does all optical out sound the same? aka 1$ cd player with optical out vs $10000 cd player with optical out


thanks

[ericj]

That's a question for the Sound Science forum.

[blawhh]

oops sorry how can i move it?

[krmathis]

I would not be surprised if you could hear a difference.
Cause it should come down to the implementation (jitter and such), the quality of the jack (tight fit against the plug), and I am sure more.

[blawhh]

oh thanks

[ericj]

Keep in mind that the receiving end is potentially responsible for the jitter. Or potentially capable of recovering from it.

[blawhh]

What do you mean recovering from it?

[linuxworks]

modern methods are very good at separating clock from data.

jitter is a 'scare word' that vendors, these days, use to sell higher priced gear.

I doubt the modern dacs care much about jitter anymore. a lot has happened in the last 15 yrs or so.

as for the fitment of the jack, that means nothing to jitter. unless you are actively tugging on the toslink jack, the jack contributes zero ill affects to jitter. how could it??

[blawhh]

so........... the verdict is not much difference?

[ericj]

a digital source with a lot of trouble keeping up a steady stream, plugged into a DAC with a precise and aggressive receiver, will sound just fine. Likely as good as a source with a perfect digital output.

A digital source with a very good output section plugged into a DAC with a poor quality receiver will sound mediocre.

I've got a DAC board on my work bench with a PLL network on the receiver that is all wrong. It has trouble locking on and drops a lot of bits. It induces jitter into otherwise good streams. I have to replace iirc 3 surface mount components, and then it will work a lot better.

[blawhh]

thanks