2. digital
  3. 172745-96

If you feed a DAC with USB does XLR matter as much?

Does running XLR matter as much if you use a USB input from a streamer instead of an AES/EBU from a good transport?  Or, what about converting USB to I2S (my new DAC — Musician Pegasus — has an I2S input through HDMI)?  My preferred would be to just go USB into the Pegasus and XLR out from that to a fully-balanced amp, but wondering what I’ll be losing with USB input or what benefits I2S conversion might bring.  Thought I read both USB and I2S were the preferred inputs on the Pegasus, but I could be wrong and welcome other thoughts/input.  My guess is converting to I2S would be best, but that’s gonna require more $$$ and not sure how much added benefit I might get from it.  Thanks!

soix

Showing 1 response by apogeum

apogeum
34 posts
 

AES/EBU, USB, HDMI are simply different ways of how to connects audio gear and have benefits under certain circumstances.

AES/EBU is the professional standard used in studios with 110ohms impedance . The input of the DAC is transformer coupled.

USB is converted to I2S which is used inside the DAC for connections. This is done by a chip.

If you can use I2S via HDMI it might sound better than USB (or not).

In studios all digital gear is  normally connected to a master clock so the XLR connection is fine and has some advantages. For home use I would prefer USB or HDMI but it really depends on the specs of the gear. Listening will help to find what sounds best.

 

 

 

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