The usb signal is transmitted in analogue form, by creating square waves, so the ability to create the most accurate square wave is important, allegedly.
We audiophiles so wish that was the case as we would save a few pounds but it just isn't unfortunately.
Its the uncertainty about what’s upstream that is the question. TIDAL and Qobuz allow for artists/labels to submit albums through third party services like Indigoboom, Record Union, DistroKid or Tunecore and that sloppy process invites serious questions about the quality and provenance of some recordings. How was the file processed? How was the file modified to add headers? We can’t know. Now let’s use MQA as another example. Beginning in February 2019, major record labels such as Atlantic, Warner, and numerous small labels began distributing most new releases only in MQA 48kHZ 24 bit to TIDAL and Qobuz (yes, Qobuz is publishing MQA formatted albums— see Audiophile Style for more on that). Each week more and more albums are appearing only in MQA format and that is what’s concerning about digital and streaming— the digital quest might be in vein if the files from TIDAL and Qobuz are inferior to begin with. For me the CD is the source of truth and it just sounds better.
I doubt this. Otherwise the transmission via Toslink with its bandwidth limitation (→ rounded squares) would sound worse than every other connection. Also, given jitter immunity on the DAC's side signal-shape accuracy shouldn't matter – theoretically –, as long as the digital info is losslessly transmitted. So rkt31's question is justified: What kind of tweaks are there supposed to be at work in said expensive servers? Why not just use a battery-driven audio player as source instead?
I have no skin in the game.
Even your Wave cables with their massive ferrite population will certainly round the signal to a significant degree (not like optical, given the higher bandwidth, but enough to deviate from the ideal).
If you have time read 6moons.com part 1 CX+EX solution.
I hope that it is some decent wine. Life is too short to drink vinegar.
We were talking of the signal shape that's compromized by bandwidth limiting. You can't avoid a rounding of edges by any form of (low-pass) filtering. That's not to say the digital signal itself (or its content, resp.) be compromized.
I use a basic DAP via optical out with no issues and it sounds great. You are tethered by the cable but so are your ears.
Just playing the devil's advocate...
It's somewhat plausible that every process that takes current introduces some interference and that it's dependent on the capabilities of the power supply how much this takes effect. Now we're still talking of a digital signal that's not directly affected by such irregularities. We just have to take care that the interferences don't reach the DAC and further downstream devices. Your scenario is that a well-designed server will eliminate much of the interferences by means of low-pass filtering and/or galvanic isolation (against the transmission of interferences via ground connection). Unfortunately the signal processing in the server will produce some interferences itself, thus is depending on a capable power supply for minimizing them. It reads like you would be better off by renouncing the server and just using a row of battery-driven iFi iSilencers or iDefenders instead as proposed by rkt31.
If you ask Rob, that's absolutely counterproductive, since any pre-DAC reclocking measures will only do harm to the sound or nothing in the best case, since the DAVE itself has a very capable clock on board – the cause of its immunity to signal jitter. How can double re-clocking be useful for sound quality?
Hard to believe, but I believe you. dmance reports the same. However, it looks like we will never get a signal clean enough for our demands (that can't be improved any further), and then there's the mechanical aspect and the noise of the tides...
