Quote:
Originally Posted by kiteki /img/forum/go_quote.gif
If optical was better than USB, a USB->SPDIF converter wouldn't take advantage of that, since the signal would have travelled through USB, before it hit optical.
So you're saying that the signal quality is better just because it has traveled through USB first and then optical?
That's not what I'm saying.
Quote:
It will only sound as good as your weakest link.
Yes, pretty much. IF optical was superior to USB, then connecting a data stream via a USB cable to optical would only make it sound as good "as USB", pretty much.
Signals should be pure, and kept as short as possible.
I don't believe there is any definitive answer whether USB, optical or COAX is better, since it all depends on the sender and receiver, not so much the photons versus electrons in the cable.
So, it all depends on the
USB receiver module inside the DAC, and the method of data transmission from your computer, Asio, KernelStreaming, etc.
Likewise if you're using a good external USB->COAX/SPDIF device, it will still depend on the Coax or optical receiver inside your DAC.
As an aside, I think USB->COAX/SPDIF devices have become a bit expensive and overrated recently.
Now, as for the opening question of the thread "how much does USB limit DAC performance?", the answer is it doesn't, unless you have an internal sound-card which has a high-end COAX sender, and a DAC with a high-end COAX receiver, surpassing current USB systems.
As for 32 bit, like I said it's not about the music, it's the fact... how many good or popular 16/44.1 DAC's are there out there? The designers of DAC chips like Asahi Kasei Microsystems, Sabre ESS and Wolfson will usually have a 24 or 32 bit DAC as their flagship design, best sounding DAC's.
So in fact, the best sounding DAC's out there are most likely 32 bit. Saying 32 bit is "completely useless" (in post #8) since 0.001% of music is 32 bit doesn't make any sense. Plus I believe computer systems may likely handle 32 bit better than 24 bit from what I've read in a couple places.
The only popular 16/44.1 DAC chips I can personally think of are NOS, like the TDA1543 used in the Hifiman HM-601.
Anyway, mac336, I think the realistic answer is a Teralink X2 or Musiland Monitor 01 USD will serve you just as well as an average internal sound-card with COAX out, and that 24 bit versus 32 bit is not very important.
Imho the sound-quality of a DAC is determined by
- power supply
- circuit design
- capacitors
- op-amps
- DAC chip used
- USB / COAX / SPDIF receiver chip/s used
- length of cable
- clock precision
- software drivers (ASIO / KernelStreaming, output bit depth etc.).
In reality, all of these can reach complete hi-fi standards for less than $300 total, imho.