How to get into high end digital? (Feeding a DAC)

I'll jump in, with no answers but some suggestions.  In fact, i'll suggest that you ignore all specific answers nad spend some time learning.  "product X" is almost never the answer.

There have been a ton of excellent threads that several folks, me included have contributed to.  The bottom line is that you need to learn about digital interfaces at some level ( i realize not all are engineers), their issues, and basic approaches to fixing the issues.

A few resources are helpful.  he best, IMO is Hans Beekhuysen:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR4tuhqPppVp-PD0q17sPEA
he's become the digital audio guy. he has an e-book out, and several (free) Youtube sessions on various topics. I assure you he knows his stuff.

John Darko has much simpler, though less meaty stuff, as is his niche.

You can also find and read the way-behind-schedule but meaty blogs at Sonogy Research. One is on why the digital interface is not in fact purely digital.  Warning: you must go back to your high school math which many of the youtube "bits is bits" pundits apparently forgot.

In the end, for both practical and sonic reasons i targe some variant of ethernet to USB, and to clean up that USB.  Much of this as to do with clean grounds/power, and ensuring low jitter.  The rest is mumbo jumbo.

In general I'd put SPDIF from a CD player dead last almost regardless of who's magic box it is.  And transport is just a CDP with the DAC bypassed and the solid i2S internal interface replaced with the timing-challenged SPDIF (no timing lead).

Enjoy the journey.
G

I think Hans provides a ton of good, basic, information in a user-friendly format (unlike here).  I'm also not terribly interested in his specific product suggestions.  The goal is for the OP to triage and make his own (her own? who knows).


I cannot, of course, comment on objections that you don’t specify, but if some audiophiles get unhappy with someone it typically says to me "he must be on to something"


And as one who has worked in various aspects of digital sound, video and synchronization, on and off, directly and indirectly for 35 years, i feel comfortable with my opinion. This extends from high end product and contract design to my real work at places like leading research labs, plus SMPTE, MPEG, and others.  I mean, we're just looking to demystify the basics.

Moreover, I’ve spent enough time to tune in my own system, using modestly price stuff and get impressive results against stuff costing 5-10X. Bear in mind my goal is not just the sound, its to learn where and how i might be able to make a jump in price/performance and/or simplify this admittedly befuddling topic.

So i will double don on him giving a great overview to new players in digital about what is what, what terms of art mean, how they go together, and what he feels makes a difference.


I cant speak for the areas you think he has been in error, but i know I’ve made mistakes. I presume you have too. As Charlie Brown quipped when Lucy Van Pelt noted that we learn from our mistakes: "that must make me the smartest person in the whole world"

I really don't like having to deal with overly strong, even if they have merit, comments that are not backed up by enough facts to know the difference. Let's be measured and cite our sources.


G

And yes, NUCs (running good streaming software ike Roon or ???) and Raspberry Pis are really strong contenders. That said they both demand attention to clean power, or better yet, segmented power with clean and dirty functions handled independently. You might be surprised how many commercial product embed a RPi or similar. Hey, i might. Nothing wrong with a solid, mass produced platform that on fixes the weaknesses of.
Oh, and to a couple who posted, my comment about "the answer being component X" was aimed at no one in particular - just more a process comment that understanding comes before selection IMO.