[J-Pak]

Just wondering if anyone has done any comparisons of multiple sound cards' digital outs? What I mean is just comparing how only its digital out fares against other sound cards when used as a transport to a DAC.

Many times people have commented that digital out on soundcard X is superior to soundcard Y, but has anyone actually done a shootout?

If there aren't any I would be happy to do one on AV-710 vs E-MU0404 feeding my Bel Canto DAC2.

 

[003]

Yes, there was a website that did a review of the ESI Juli@, and in the review they compared it's digital out to a number of other sound cards. And in fact, the Juli@'s digital out is EXACTLY as good as the Lynx Two, making it a real bargin.

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 Yes, there was a website that did a review of the ESI Juli@, and in the review they compared it's digital out to a number of other sound cards. And in fact, the Juli@'s digital out is EXACTLY as good as the Lynx Two, making it a real bargin.

Could I get the link? And is this based off listening tests or measurements?

 

[device manager]

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/...lia/index.html

 

[dknightd]

I compared my macs built in optical output to the coax ouput of my maudio audiophile firewire. Both feeding a Benchmark DAC1. I couldn't tell the difference. I suspect what you'll find is that the DAC used in the comparison has as much to do with it as which digital output you use. Some Dacs might be more tollerant of differing inputs, or maybe not. . . To be honest unless your digital output is horrible, or you have very good ears, or there is somekind of mismatch between output and input, I'd be surprised if you hear any difference at all. In my limited experience the biggest difference is between DACS, and the analog sections they use. YMMV

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dknightd I compared my macs built in optical output to the coax ouput of my maudio audiophile firewire. Both feeding a Benchmark DAC1. I couldn't tell the difference. I suspect what you'll find is that the DAC used in the comparison has as much to do with it as which digital output you use. Some Dacs might be more tollerant of differing inputs, or maybe not. . . To be honest unless your digital output is horrible, or you have very good ears, or there is somekind of mismatch between output and input, I'd be surprised if you hear any difference at all. In my limited experience the biggest difference is between DACS, and the analog sections they use. YMMV

This was my guess all along.

In the CDP transport world, everyone makes a huge deal about jitter.

 

[Scrith]

I was always very skeptical of USB audio devices like the M-Audio Audiophile USB, but I had an opportunity to purchase one for a good price about a year ago, so I decided to give it a try and do an exhaustive comparison between it and my E-Mu 1212M. The drivers on the M-Audio device were just awful though (Kernal Streaming was flaky, ASIO didn't work), so I threw the thing in the closet and forgot about it for about 9 months.

Then M-Audio released new drivers for it a few months ago, so I decided to give it another try. And...despite my hope that I could just throw it back in the closet (I was very happy with the 1212M by this time), I ended up preferring the sound I heard from it. I thought I might just be imagining it, so I called my wife in for a blind test (she couldn't care less about what a 1212M or an Audiophile USB are), and she preferred the Audiophile USB too.

So, I think there is a difference, at least in my case. See my original post (somewhere on a thread about the new M-Audio Audiophile USB drivers, I think) for more details.

The comparison was made using a Benchmark DAC1, Zu Audio Ash coax cable, Custom SFT Dynamight amp + Qualia 010 (w/ balanced Black Dragon cables) headphones, and a Musical Fidelity amp driving Totem Signature Model One speakers.

 

[lan]

Such a comparision isn't meaningful. The results will vary by your computers PSU, motherboard, which slot you put in, other devices in there, the digital cable you use, and the DAC you use.

Most likely you will hear little if any differences and if you hear any differences, you may not be able to describe it as being better or worst.

So conclusion, don't worry about comparing as it's a difficult task. There will be some overlap where a "lesser" card can overtake a better one depending on the setup.

 

[gevorg]

That comparison is missing the most important part for HiFi, jitter.

 

[lator]

I have not made any comparisons, but the fact that 1212M has a separate card for digital purposes only, I chose it as my digital feeding source.

 

[Tachikoma]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 003 Yes, there was a website that did a review of the ESI Juli@, and in the review they compared it's digital out to a number of other sound cards. And in fact, the Juli@'s digital out is EXACTLY as good as the Lynx Two, making it a real bargin.

Does the ESI Juli@ have a balanced digital out? I noticed that it has a pair of balanced TRS outputs but they are only analogue outputs, correct?

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tachikoma Does the ESI Juli@ have a balanced digital out? I noticed that it has a pair of balanced TRS outputs but they are only analogue outputs, correct?

There is no such thing as 'balanced digital output'.

Digital is a transport, not a 'output' method. So, if you use the Juli@ as a digital transport, your dac/amp on the receiving side is what you want to make sure does balanced outputs.

 

[Tachikoma]

I see. Anyway, to contribute to the topic, the emu1212m's (which I have on loan now) digital out has stronger bass than the AV-710's, with the M-Audio SuperDAC. (from what I've heard, this DAC is relatively suceptible to transport differences) I haven't been able to compare them more closely to spot the subtler differences, however.

A digital out shootout between the emu1212m and the esi juli@:
http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...+Juli%40+1212m

 

[Johan in Brabant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asmo There is no such thing as 'balanced digital output'.

I think that might not be true. In the AES/EBU specs (see link) a balanced digital connection is mentioned.

http://www.ebu.ch/CMSimages/en/tec_d...tcm6-12767.pdf

Cheers,
Johan

 

[Budley007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johan in Brabant I think that might not be true. In the AES/EBU specs (see link) a balanced digital connection is mentioned.

Totally different beast as opposed to XLR "balanced audio output".