Rob Watts
Member of the Trade: Chord Electronics
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2014
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I actually agree with your experience on the DAVE, Simon. My group also heard subtle differences from one source to another and unblinded, I had reported that some of us felt USB sounded a bit better than optical and that the N10 layered a bit better than the other sources although when blinded, none of us could tell what we were listening to. It's possible, however, that while blinded, because it took a bit more time to switch from one source to another, it was easier for the mind to forget what it had just heard. Regardless, our consensus was that if one source was better than another, it was subtle at best and from the worst to the best, they all sounded very very good. Since then, I have also tested my Roku box and my Sonos via optical (both bit-perfect) and they all seem to sound just as good.
With more time spent comparing, using my Sonicorbiter SE which has both USB and optical outputs, I remain convinced that USB is slightly better than optical (a bit more air) and so almost all of my critical listening is now on USB although at no time do I feel shortchanged when listening via optical. Having sold my AES/EBU cables with my TotalDac months ago, I have not tried the AES/EBU input on the DAVE and perhaps someone can report how the AES/EBU or the Coax inputs compare.
Agreed on the USB input - it is a tad more detailed with more clarity than the optical - but we are talking small differences here. Using the jitter test you can measure v tiny degradation using optical, but its barely detectable. The reason USB is slightly better is because the timing comes from the FPGA, and of course they are both galvanically isolated.
Rob