Digital out question

[Uroboros]

I know that the analogue out on sound cards is effected by the components on the card (DAC, etc); but are there differences between the digital output of sound cards? Will the digital out of my onboard Realtek HD be any worse than the digital out of the Auzen X-FI Prelude for example. Both being fed into the same external DAC

Beyond extra features provided by the card of course.

TIA

 

[1UP]

Are there / can there be measured differences? Yes, check this.

The extent to which it may affect your final sound quality - a different metric - is a function of numerous factors, though, such as the external DAC's susceptibility to jitter.

Here's another good read.

 

[FallenAngel]

Yes, digital output has quite a few differences, most noted in that article (though obviously take it with a few grains of salt - the guy behind the article does mods for money so how much "difference" you'll get may be grossly exaggerated)

 

[little-endian]

The precise answer:

As long as the external DAC does everything right (decent jitter immunity like DAC1 for instance), the resulting audio quality is affected only by the data.

Some devices are unable to provide correct data and would have gained more sense in life then we were a toaster. Some don't support specific sample rates or word lengths or perform weird resampling before passing the data to the S/PDIF-port. However, this can be quite easily verified by recording and comparing. Anything else is voodoo.

 

[FallenAngel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by little-endian /img/forum/go_quote.gif The precise answer: As long as the external DAC does everything right (decent jitter immunity like DAC1 for instance), the resulting audio quality is affected only by the data. Some devices are unable to provide correct data and would have gained more sense in life then we were a toaster. Some don't support specific sample rates or word lengths or perform weird resampling before passing the data to the S/PDIF-port. However, this can be quite easily verified by recording and comparing. Anything else is voodoo.

Please don't give bad advice or give attributes to some product which is does not and cannot possess.

1) Nothing is "jitter immune" and throwing a name (DAC1 in this case) is pure bull. Reclocking circuits can only do so much but starting with a poor impedance and poorly timed S/PDIF signal is not something that can be "fixed".

2) There is no data correction with S/PDIF, though there is a simple BMC encoding tries to do its best (and does decently).

As for the exact implementation of sources, yes, some resample, and are not bitperfect, but the fact that a simple $20 sound card provides decent output (read as : fairly well timed and bit-perfect), it shouldn't be an issue. Of course there are expensive products that don't, so I guess that can be mentioned.

 

[Uroboros]

Thanks for the info everyone

 

[saintalfonzo]

I've been wondering quite a bit about this lately, as I've been having a problem with my spdif out from my laptop (realtek). I notice that when I have my WA6 SE fired up and turn up the volume at all I can detect noise that sounds like interference coming from my laptop. When I move my mouse (razer lachesis) I can hear a the higher frequencies of the interference fluctuate directly with the movement of the mouse. The same thing is noticable with the touchpad, but with lower frequencies. Keep in mind that it's not incredibly loud, but it's impossible not to notice. It's impossible to notice any of this interference during music playback, even in quiet passages, but I can't help but think it may be making a difference anyway. What I'm contemplating now, is switching to a dac with usb input, but if that doesn't solve the issue I will be incredibly irritated. Any advice? I'm not trying to hijack the thread, but seeing as the OP has gotten the info he was searching for, I decided not to create a new thread since my question is related.