No doubt quality of interface in streamer is critical in determining which input on dac is preferred. Many streamers use plain jane outputs on motherboards, this not optimal, reason why usb interface/output like the JCAT and Berkeley provide higher sound quality. And then there are the proprietary interfaces such as Auralic and Taiko provide which may also be a game changer. And then we have the cables, need level playing field when comparing interfaces. Galvanic isolation is the bare minimum for a quality interface, clocks, power supplies to those clocks critical, and then with the outboard devices such as DDC, they need to optimize both input and output. In the end entire chain of interfaces has to be considered in evaluating which is best in any particular situation.
Does your DAC sound better through the S/PDIF or I2S inputs than through USB?
For a long time I used a Windows NUC driving my DAC through USB. (A modified Gustard X20Pro.) Then I got an Aurender N100 which provided a better USB source. I also tried a DAC on the recommendation of a friend in the New Jersey Audiophile Society. People were excited about this there: the Gustard R26.
I found that the R26 is disappointing through its USB input, but excels through the Coax S/PDIF input using a Gustard U18 Digital/Digital Convertor.
This probably points to a subpar USB implementation, to be honest, but I started wondering if this is a general pattern among DACs that can take both S/PDIF and USB.
Anyone find something similar in their DAC?
For example, I'm interested in a Schiit DAC (not sure which model yet). Now that I have the DDC I can drive it through Coax and compare to USB. With the Gungnir 2, I may not have the choice of USB because they have a USB C connection and my only good USB cable is A to B.
Note: what is wrong with the R26 through the USB input: very light bass, unintegrated treble (sibilance kind of clouds over the sound and doesn't integrate with the body of the instruments)
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@sns My streamer/server is an Aurender N100H, which offers only USB output, but it’s a much better USB output than the previous server I was using, a simple Intel NUC. I think it’s probably a very well implemented USB output port. When I use S/PDIF, I’m plugging the USB cable into a Gustard U18 DDC, which has only USB as input. I’m sure that the quality of the Aurender also helps the U18 function better. My Gustard R26 sounds better, as I said in my OP, through the U18 and SPDIF (coax) inputs. It sounds pretty lame through USB, even when it's the Aurender driving the USB. So I'm guessing it's a poor USB implementation in the R26. |
@magon It seems reasonable to conclude R26 usb implementation not optimal. I'd suggest you need better DDC in order for best optimization of I2S. Jitter specs for DDC don't tell the whole story. I had a Singxer SU6 some years ago, wasn't all that impressed with I2S at the time, Gaia DDC with really nice Tubulus I2S cable makes all the difference. I've haven't used SPDIF as a digital input in many years. |
@magon Presume that very nice cable, like silver for my digital cables, use AQ Diamond for my usb cable. The one thing I'd say about using HDMI vs I2S cable is one may be paying for unneeded runs of wire with the HDMI, silver is pretty pricey. |
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