Someone tell me I'm mad!!!!
I've always been led to believe that proper digital coax RCA spidf was better than Toslink for hooking up CD Transport to dac.
Tried a cheap fibre optic Toslink today, and "I think" it could be better, ever so slight grain not on Sade's voice any more, which I thought was "natural" with the RCA, and seems to be more air around everything, even the bass.
Cheers George
I've always been led to believe that proper digital coax RCA spidf was better than Toslink for hooking up CD Transport to dac.
Tried a cheap fibre optic Toslink today, and "I think" it could be better, ever so slight grain not on Sade's voice any more, which I thought was "natural" with the RCA, and seems to be more air around everything, even the bass.
Cheers George
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No.. you're hearing things that really aren't there. A digital link either works or it doesn't work, Period. There is simply no way the physical connection type will affect subtle aspects of the audio stream, if the connection is poor enough and too many bits are lost that manifests as glitches of dead air in the audio, that is the all or nothing aspect... you get perfect recreation of the recording or nothing at all. There is no in between.
If your DAC has no pulse transformer for the digital RCA , there might be some ground noise. Get a better one.
The optical connection is limited to 96kHz max, but you will have only 44.1k so both should be able transmit the same signal.
The optical connection is limited to 96kHz max, but you will have only 44.1k so both should be able transmit the same signal.
The information in the SPDIF data stream is coded in a way so that the phase locked loop in the SPDIF receiver in the Dac is able to regenerate a stable master clock which is of utmost importance to the conversion back to analog sound. The quality of the signal will affect the jitter performance. Take a look at this:
Digital Interfaces - An Introduction - Part 1.2 [English]
To get rid of this problem I use the "clock backwards config." That is I slave the transport to a stable clock oscillator in the dac. I can then disconnect the Master clock generated in the SPDIF receiver. That said, most of the receivers in todays dacs are of very good quality and produce excellent sound, but the quality of the connection can have an influence.
Digital Interfaces - An Introduction - Part 1.2 [English]
To get rid of this problem I use the "clock backwards config." That is I slave the transport to a stable clock oscillator in the dac. I can then disconnect the Master clock generated in the SPDIF receiver. That said, most of the receivers in todays dacs are of very good quality and produce excellent sound, but the quality of the connection can have an influence.