Denafrips Ares II Buffering and Reclocking
I recently got a Denafrips Ares II. From what I've read, it has FIFO buffering and rechecking capability which results in the output audio being out of sync with the video when applicable. I don't plan to use it for anything but stereo audio, so this isn't a concern, but is an indication that the DAC is not relying on the incoming data for timing and such. With that in mind, it seems like it shouldn't really matter how the DAC is getting the digital data other than the USB input is required for full DSD capability.
I tend to lean more towards the "zeros and ones" side of things more than the "everything matters" side, but I do try to keep an open mind. I've heard things that I wasn't expecting more than once, so have learned to be open minded. In my system I have yet to hear any difference when it comes to anything upstream of my DAC.
I can wrap my mind around the CD transport, streamer, etc., making a difference if the DAC is processing the data in real time, but it's clear that the Denafrips Ares II is not doing that.
I'm currently connected to my Bluesound Node via Audioquest Cinnamon digital coax and am going to try a USB connection in case I ever want to dabble with DSD1024 files since the digital coax is limited to DSD64.
Thoughts?
- I might be a robot.
If all the digital inputs are feeding into the same FIFO buffer, then there's no reason why one connection method should sound different from another.
Per Stereophile's measurements, you might have some issues with full-scale signals overloading the oversampling filter for PCM audio.
Also, depending on how Denafrips implemented DSD decoding, one bitrate may produce more distortion than others, but it's likely not going to be audible. See this blog post for more information. |
