2. digital
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Does the quality of a digital signal matter?

I recently heard a demonstration where a CD player was played with and without being supported with three Nordost Sort Kones. The difference was audible to me, but did not blow me away.

I was discussing the Sort Kones with a friend of mine that is an electrical engineer and also a musical audio guy. It was his opinion that these items could certain make an improvement in an analogue signal, but shouldn't do anything for a digital signal. He said that as long as the component receiving the digital signal can recognize a 1 or 0 then the signal is successful. It's a pass/fail situation and doesn't rely on levels of quality.

An example that he gave me was that we think nothing of using a cheap CDRW drive to duplicate a CD with no worry about the quality being reduced. If the signal isn't read in full an error is reported so we know that the entire signal has been sent.

I believe he said that it's possible to show that a more expensive digital cable is better than another, but the end product doesn't change.

There was a test done with HDMI cables that tested cables of different prices. The only difference in picture quality was noted when a cable was defective and there was an obvious problem on the display.

I realize that the most use analogue signals, but for those of us that use a receiver for our D/A, does the CD players quality matter? Any thoughts?
mceljo

Showing 2 responses by trebejo

trebejo
102 posts
 
Ever hear a CD "skip"? That's when the quality matters.

The distortion from a bad reading of 0's and 1's will most certainly not be euphonic.

So if your tone-deaf buddy/brother/significant other/etc. that thinks that you're crazy to spend all that time and $$ on your stereo listens to your system and immediately tells you "dude, your CD is broken", then you've got a problem with the quality of your digital signal. If such a person does not immediately point the finger at your CD player, then you don't have a problem with your digital signal.

Don't worry, you will find other problem with your stereo--I know I have. :)
trebejo
102 posts
 
Stanwal, the problem that you are describing is properly ascribed to the DAC or the output stage, just like Shadorne said above (twice).
Trust me, if the 0's and 1's were getting messed up, it would not be subtle, but horrible--like the sound of a skipping CD. Your computer would tell you that it can't read that CD, etc.
Horrible, catastrophic errors--those probably come from a bad reading of the 0s and 1s. Subtler, "audiophillic" errors--those probably come from an inferior DAC or output stage.
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