[Jimster480]

I took the easy way out and used the onboard optical and coaxial for Windows instead, leaving the USB for Mac and iOS

.
Ya i will use both. I use optical on my TV to my speakers but at my desk I have 2 desktops so one will be connected via optical and the other via USB unless the second one has coax.

 

[winders]

Digital signals don't have impedance.

 
You are an example of someone that doesn't realize that USB (digital) signals on a wire are in fact analog signals encoded with digital information.
 
I am done wasting my time.....

 

[MWSVette]

Digital signals don't have impedance.
 

 
 
No signal has impedance.  However all cables do...
 

 

[Jimster480]

   
You are an example of someone that doesn't realize that USB (digital) signals on a wire are in fact analog signals encoded with digital information.
 
I am done wasting my time.....

LMAO what did you just say?

Analog isn't digital, the two are not the same. The waves are not the same, the data isn't at all the same.
 
Sorry but you have literally no idea at all what you are talking about.
 
Have a good day.

 

[Jimster480]

   
 
No signal has impedance.  However all cables do...
 

True
And this is the only difference between peoples "magic" cables and regular "standard" cables. The difference in impedance changes the sound especially at the same volume level on the amp, causing people to think that it makes a difference.

 

[gvl2016]

I was skeptical about all these USB gizmos but an iPurifier noticeably improved the treble, made it smoother and less brittle on a couple of DACs I tried it with Mimby including. And it's not in my head.

 

[droopy1592]

  LMAO what did you just say?

Analog isn't digital, the two are not the same. The waves are not the same, the data isn't at all the same.
 
Sorry but you have literally no idea at all what you are talking about.
 
Have a good day.

No, he's right, you don't know what you're talking about. A little info may lead you to that conclusion but winders' right. 

 

[Jimster480]

I was skeptical about all these USB gizmos but an iPurifier noticeably improved the treble, made it smoother and less brittle on a couple of DACs I tried it with Mimby including. And it's not in my head.

Well I'm sure it will help some if you have a crappy USB implementation or crappy power delivery from the USB.

 

[gvl2016]

 
Well I'm sure it will help some if you have a crappy USB implementation or crappy power delivery from the USB.

 
The thing is, most of us do.

 

[winders]

   
The thing is, most of us do.

I think we are wasting our time discussing this with him. He has his pre-conceived notions and they are not going to change.

 

[bigro]

Unless I am missing something USB uses an NRZI format which is a digital format using discrete pulses as opposed to continuous which is what an analog signal is.
 
https://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/eceprojectsland/STUDENTPROJ/2007to2008/blh36_cdl28_dct23/siam32-0.2a.pdf
 
 
 
"The actual data on the bus is encoded through the line states by a nonreturn-to-zero-inverted (NRZI) digital signal. In NRZI encoding, a digital 1 is represented by no change in the line state and a digital 0 is represented as a change of the line state. Thus, every time a 0 is transmitted the line state will change from J to K, or vice versa. However, if a 1 is being sent the line state will remain the same."
https://www.totalphase.com/support/articles/200349256-USB-Background

 

[winders]

  Unless I am missing something USB uses an NRZI format which is a digital format using discrete pulses as opposed to continuous which is what an analog signal is.
 
https://people.ece.cornell.edu/land/courses/eceprojectsland/STUDENTPROJ/2007to2008/blh36_cdl28_dct23/siam32-0.2a.pdf
 
 
 
"The actual data on the bus is encoded through the line states by a nonreturn-to-zero-inverted (NRZI) digital signal. In NRZI encoding, a digital 1 is represented by no change in the line state and a digital 0 is represented as a change of the line state. Thus, every time a 0 is transmitted the line state will change from J to K, or vice versa. However, if a 1 is being sent the line state will remain the same."
https://www.totalphase.com/support/articles/200349256-USB-Background

Yes, digital data are sent down the bus and yes, it is a digital format. But, the bus is subject to many of the same issues an analog setup is. While the data is transmitted, the line is subject to interference, power noise, impedance issues, et cetera. While the data is transmitted, it is an analog signal that the receivers interprets. Digital is less sensitive to line issues than analog because what constitutes a 1 or a zero has much more margin for error. But those issues are still there.

 

[gvl2016]

There is no error correction of any kind for USB audio, so once a sample is lost during transmission or for whatever other reason it is lost forever. The physical layer maybe simple but the data layer is not. Here is a good read: http://www.jmaxwellusb.com/Articles/USB-Specifications.aspx

 

[bigro]

 
Yes, digital data are sent down the bus and yes, it is a digital format. But, the bus is subject to many of the same issues an analog setup is. While the data is transmitted, the line is subject to interference, power noise, impedance issues, et cetera. While the data is transmitted, it is an analog signal that the receivers interprets. Digital is less sensitive to line issues than analog because what constitutes a 1 or a zero has much more margin for error. But those issues are still there.

The Physical Medium is prone to the same issues because copper is copper, that does not define whether the signal is digital or analog. NRZI is a Digital encoding technique. A series of discrete non continuous voltage pulses which analog is not.Nothing i have read Says this type of encoding is an analog signal. If I am wrong please provide some sources. 

 

[winders]

It is a electrical signal in both cases. I can see both on an oscilloscope. Digital happens to be a square wave while analog can be a lot of wave forms including a square wave. Both go over the same medium and are subject to the same issues. The difference being that digital, the wave is interpreted as a one or a zero. The wave isn't the sound...it contains data that represents the sound and is interpreted by another device. This is why digital is more robust. The wave changing to some extent doesn't change the data. With analog, the wave changing changes the data. This is why people think that digital is digital and cables and decrapifiers don't matter. But they do.