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S/PDIF sounds more analog than AES/EBU

Hi folks, I have both Nirvana S/PDIF and AES/EBU cables. At the end I prefer the S/PDIF because to me it sounds more natural (more "analog") than the AES/EBU. Is S/PDIF more "analog" in general? Does AES/EBU sound more mechanical/sterile? My transport is the MBL 1621 and DAC is Accustic Arts Tube DAC. Thank you.

Chris
dazzdax

Showing 2 responses by audiofeil

audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
The transmission and receiver chips are different for AES/EBU and S/PDIF.

That is the reason for the same transport and d/a combination usually sounding a bit different with AES/EBU and S/PDIF.

You'll need to try both interations to determine which is best in your system.
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>if both cables are in the system,they will affect one another-as they both will present a load to the transport and/or dac.<<

Totally untrue.

Each digital output has it's own drivers. Operating two at once doesn't degrade signal level or quality. You just don't want unused digital outputs active to reduce noise.

Furthermore, most components will only allow one digital output to be active at one time. In most cases, but not all, you must change the output setting to toggle between the two.

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