2. digital
  3. 185163-3875

AES/EBU vs RCA s/pdif into dac, RCA analog out

Hi, this seems like it may be a dumb question, but here goes. If you feed the digital signal into the dac via AES/EBU and then use the dac's analog RCA outputs to your preamp (preamp only has RCA input), would this result in a better sound than using the dac's RCA s/pdif digital inputs? Or would the results be exactly the same? I hope I'm making this clear: AES/EBU vs RCA s/pdif coax input in while  using analog RCA out.  I don't currently have an AES/EBU digital cable, or I would just try this out.  I am considering purchasing one just to see if there's any difference. Thanks for any advice.

heymikey

Showing 1 response by danager

danager's avatar
danager
883 posts
 

I'm currently running AES/EBU and RCA Digital into my DAC and RCA analog to my amp.  The DAC has a remote control and all inputs are available so it's just a matter of switching inputs from the remote.

I'm not running any special digital cables.  That being said I hear no differences when I switch between RCA Digital and AES/EBU.  I want believe that AES/EBU is better but if someone switched the inputs I wouldn't be able to tell you which input was selected.  That being said all the equipment is in the same rack.  I suspect in cable runs over 20ft the AES/EBU would win.

The best method is try it and see if you can hear a difference. AES cables can be pretty cheap and tere are a lot of people who claim they can hear the difference. .  For reference I'm using the PI2AES / Raspberry PI for a streamer and to me all the inputs sound good.

More to discover