RonaldDumsfeld
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2010
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As requested. To return to the OP issue.
Quote:
The amount of confusion over this simple issue makes me suspect I might be missing something. In which case I would be more than happy to be set straight. Thanks. That said.......
It isn't. S/PDIF 'better' than USB that is. It all depends on context.
The audio we are interested in is PCM data. It might have come from a internal optical drive, an external drive, your hard disk, a flash drive of some kind, it may have been streamed via the internal or a local network. It could be in several bit rates. As .WAV, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, FLAC - whatever. These can best be imagined as 'containers' of data which is always in the same internal format. PCM samples. These will of necessity have been discontinuous at some point. They need to be re-sequenced and read by the DAC as accurately as physically possible.
So in general:-
If you own an audiophile grade DAC then some variant of S/PDIF could make sense. Use the clock on your mobo or a gadget like the Hiface if you prefer. This is because accurate re-clocking requires specialised software. Writing code isn't a strong suite for audiophile manufacturers. Particularly the high end 'boutique' guys. In addition chips that don't require software are cheaper.
If you own a semi pro grade audio interface then USB 2.0 or Firewire is best. These guys have to write their own software anyway for latency reasons. Therefore it also makes sense for them to use the better quality DAC/clocks chips.
If money is no object then it might make sense to buy the best quality external clock you can afford and sync everything in your system to that. In effect this means data transfer via Firewire/USB 2.0 as timing data is also incorporated in S/PDIF.
That said I am in the happy position of being able to easily compare all aforementioned methods. Using an audio interface that accepts data input via Firewire or USB 2.0 (clock source set to Internal), via a variety of S/PDIF containers (clock source set to External) or using in effect a high quality separate clock (clock source set to SMTPE). I know a number of you will express incredulity at this claim but any differences in sound quality, if they exist at all, are below my ability to detect. The quality of the original sample is by far the most important consideration. It's the old, old audiophile adage at work.
tl;dr?
Audiophile DAC? - S/PDIF might work for you.
Semi Pro audio interface? - USB 2.0 or Firewire. Every time.
Pro audio interface or stinking rich? - USB 2.0 or 3.0, Firewire 800 + high quality separate clock.
Quote:
Why is SPDIF better than USB?
The amount of confusion over this simple issue makes me suspect I might be missing something. In which case I would be more than happy to be set straight. Thanks. That said.......
It isn't. S/PDIF 'better' than USB that is. It all depends on context.
The audio we are interested in is PCM data. It might have come from a internal optical drive, an external drive, your hard disk, a flash drive of some kind, it may have been streamed via the internal or a local network. It could be in several bit rates. As .WAV, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, FLAC - whatever. These can best be imagined as 'containers' of data which is always in the same internal format. PCM samples. These will of necessity have been discontinuous at some point. They need to be re-sequenced and read by the DAC as accurately as physically possible.
So in general:-
If you own an audiophile grade DAC then some variant of S/PDIF could make sense. Use the clock on your mobo or a gadget like the Hiface if you prefer. This is because accurate re-clocking requires specialised software. Writing code isn't a strong suite for audiophile manufacturers. Particularly the high end 'boutique' guys. In addition chips that don't require software are cheaper.
If you own a semi pro grade audio interface then USB 2.0 or Firewire is best. These guys have to write their own software anyway for latency reasons. Therefore it also makes sense for them to use the better quality DAC/clocks chips.
If money is no object then it might make sense to buy the best quality external clock you can afford and sync everything in your system to that. In effect this means data transfer via Firewire/USB 2.0 as timing data is also incorporated in S/PDIF.
That said I am in the happy position of being able to easily compare all aforementioned methods. Using an audio interface that accepts data input via Firewire or USB 2.0 (clock source set to Internal), via a variety of S/PDIF containers (clock source set to External) or using in effect a high quality separate clock (clock source set to SMTPE). I know a number of you will express incredulity at this claim but any differences in sound quality, if they exist at all, are below my ability to detect. The quality of the original sample is by far the most important consideration. It's the old, old audiophile adage at work.
tl;dr?
Audiophile DAC? - S/PDIF might work for you.
Semi Pro audio interface? - USB 2.0 or Firewire. Every time.
Pro audio interface or stinking rich? - USB 2.0 or 3.0, Firewire 800 + high quality separate clock.