Exactly right, just ensure it’s a 4…I was thinking of that as an interim, but alas, Ropieee does not list the Digi Pro as a supported HAT. They have Digi+ Pro and Digi +, but not Digi Pro (no +).
Edit: Wait a minute!! If I am going USB to my DAC, I don't need a HAT, right??
I do want USB to my DAC in my home office, so see a RPi 4 in my very near future!
Because the PC is sending data via its network protocol and the streamer is converting that into audio data. Any noise you might hear will be from the streamer and DAC (and amp.)I’m married to Unison
One last (hopefully!) question for my better understanding. In a PC - wireless - streamer chain, my PC is still at the source. How does this solution bypass PC-induced audio issues?
I was strongly advised against wireless for Roon, but despite that I had to do itIn a wireless setup one eliminates possible EMI/RFI noise introduced into the cabling when one wires devices together -- especially longer runs. As stated above, in a wireless setting noise can be introduced by the PC before sending the data and audio gear after receiving the data. Wireless prevents noise from being picked up along the transmission path but does nothing before the signal/data/music is sent or received.
**In my wireless music server setup, I have noticed a slight reduction of dynamics and soundstage on low Air Quality Index / high pollen count days, but attribute that more to nose and ears being stuffy.
You read my comment correctly. I do not stack the Ultradenus on their P/S although I cannot say if it makes any difference ( I opted for the custom linear power supply offered by Sonore rather than the wall wart. Why? because it makes me feel better.) In general the PC will not see the streamer as an audio output option. It is just another network resource. Your software needs to control the streamer as it is now your playback device.
It's complicated. Modern digital circuitry is quite robust to variability in the electrical representation of digital signals coming in, meaning that bits (switch transitions 0<->1) are reconstructed correctly even when the incoming electrical signal is overlaid with noise and jitter. However, that electrical variability does not evaporate (conservation of energy and all that) but it must be filtered/dissipated in the DAC circuit before it interacts with the nonlinearities in the DAC -- digital to analog conversion is a highly nonlinear electronic process -- and is potentially aliased into the audible band. One thing to keep in mind is that standard analog measurements are time averages that don't necessarily capture transient features of the reconstructed signal. I've conducted blind A/B tests with different well-regarded digital sources feeding Yggdrasil (and other DACs) and the test subjects were able to distinguish the sources reliably and express their preferences consistently. These not in lab conditions, but the results were consistent.
I stand corrected. Maybe so on the PC end. With my very limited knowledge of electrical engineering, I cannot rule out that computer generated EMI/RFI noise can be picked up, encapsulated, and carried along with the music in a wireless data packet. I certainly welcome knowledgeable folks schooling me on why I would be wrong in thinking so. On the receiving end, there is definitely possibilities for noise being introduced after the conversion from digital to analog to occurs, but I think we all know that.
When you send a file to your printer, does it get corrupted by noise from your PC? Or a photo from your PC to your phone, does it get crapped up with noise from the PC? Why would audio files being sent as network data to another computer (the streamer)? It is the output device - USB S/PDIF - connected to your DAC where digital noise CAN BE problematic for audio. And note I say "can be" not IS. Audiophiles make much more out of "possible problems" than exist in reality.
