Sending music to DAC wireless vs wired

Juanitox,Busheep and others,

Trying to get my undereducated brain around the contention that wireless is better than wired. Only thing I can think of is that RF energy might be "cleaner" than electrical energy. But if this is the case, RF energy is certainly subject to various conditions which effect propagation and which do indeed effect the sound quality. Still I can accept the possibility that wireless is better, I just don't understand why.

So inquiring minds want to know (including Cerrot and Jpod) why is wireless better?

Jpod - you are missing the point. It's not that wireless is better than wired.

The point is that networked, packetized data is superior to USB protocol for music streaming. The reason that networked (ie; ethernet), both wired and wireless is better is because the data is packetized, flow-controlled and retried. USB is not packetized and typically has no flow-control and no retry.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Steve N,
Thanks for your response. Even though there was plenty of evidence to the contrary, I assumed that this thread was about "wireless vs. wired" in computer networks in general. But as I understand it now, this thread is only about getting data to a DAC.

I knew that a network connection was better than a USB connection for delivering data to a DAC. And I knew that devices like Sonos, Airport Express, Apple TV, Squeezebox and etc. do a great job of delivering networked data to a DAC. I guess what I did not know was what this particular thread was really about.

Dang, an embarrassment smiley face would come in handy right now.

Anyway, thanks again.

JPO

i have both wired and wireless hookups in my house. i have cat5e wire and use 802.11g wireless. the only issue i have had with the wireless connection is competing with another wireless device. i had to change the channel setting on my WAP and it has been fine ever since.

i would recommend hooking up your computer or external device (airport express for example) to a jitter reduction unit, then from there going into an external dac. there was a HUGE difference in the quality of the sound when adding these devices before the dac. i use a quality coax cable from the jitter device into the dac. all of my remote connections in my house have this type of setup with very good results.

i also believe after reading articles and reviews of usb connections with usb dacs that that is not the way to go. the other reason is you are limited on which dac you can by if you stick with usb. the best external dacs do not use usb and the reviews of the dacs with usb have not been favorable.

Rbstehno wrote:
"the best external dacs do not use usb and the reviews of the dacs with usb have not been favorable."

Not true at all. The review of the Benchmark DAC-1 USB, the Wavelength Cosecant and the Empirical Audio Spoiler USB DAC's were definitely favorable. There was a minor technical issue with the DAC-1 USB which was resolved later. The reviewers in the reviews liked the USB connections and found them comparable or better than the S/PDIF coaxial connections.

The thing that is spoiling the performance of many USB DAC's is the use of the TI PCM270X devices. These are essentially plug-and-play and very inexpensive, so many manufacturers have used these in their first USB DAC's. Unfortunatly, this chip does not sound good, even with the heroic attampts at low-jitter clocks and good power supplies etc. It is also limited to 16/44.1. Therefore, there were a series of reviews of these DAC's that were unfavorable, at least towards the USB inputs. But this does not represent the state of ALL USB DAC's.

None of the Benchmark DAC-1 USB, the Wavelength DAC's or the Empirical Audio Spoiler use the PCM270X chips. Instead, they use the TAS1020 from TI, which is designed by an entirely different group at TI and sounds wonderful, particularly with the right USB firmware inside it.

Please go read these reviews and discover how good USB DAC's can be:

Stereophile DAC-1 USB:
http://stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/108bench/

Empirical Audio Spoiler:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0708/empirical_spoiler_usb_dac.htm

Wavelength Cosecant (before the synch USB upgrade):
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/1006/wavelength_audio_cosecant.htm