2. digital
  3. 119007-1483

Server to DAC connection

Robert Harley recently reviewed the top Aurender server, which offers several choices of connection to a DAC. He preferred USB via a Berkeley Alpha USB converter. By adding a cable and complicated piece of hardware, this seems to go against the 'simpler is better' philosophy. But, I wonder if there might be an overall gain with the Berkeley. I have the Aurender N10, and I'm currently using the SPDIF connection, as my DAC does not have a USB input. I'm thinking of trying the Berkeley Alpha USB. Has anyone else compared the Berkeley to AES or SPDIF? For those with a USB DAC, how does the Berkeley compare to a direct USB connection?
psag

Showing 2 responses by kennythekey

kennythekey
580 posts
 
I agree with Lalitk, that spdif is superior sounding to usb. At least, a few years ago when I did a/b testing with my own gear.
l'm not familiar with your equipment, but I own a music server that is usb only, and a DAC that can accept various inputs including usb. I went with an Audiophelio usb to spdif converter, and this dramatically bettered the straight usb to usb connection in every musical sense.
In your case, you can do spdif to spdif, so less may be more, unless there is real magic in the Berkeley.
I'm not sure if this helps you, but wanted to share my experience, because my Audiophileo does work magic in my situation. Did Hartley explain his opinion on why the Berkeley improved things? For example, it further reduced jitter thus sounding better than Aurender's straight spdif output?


kennythekey
580 posts
 

Mitch

In my situation, improvements have mainly come from improving power.

At the time, my DAC's one review fault was with it's USB input, but with the upgraded model that I own (+), improvements were made to that. I put together the C.A.P.S. Carbon music server, so usb to usb. The two sounded pretty good, but when I hooked up my old CD player to the coaxial input, that bettered my Carbon. So, more detailed and dynamic,etc.. That's when I started looking into a converter and wound up with the Audiophilleo2 with the optional PurePower.

The dirty power from the usb cable is used to charge the PurePower battery and do some processing work, but the power to the clocks and the spdif output stage is completely clean. So, you are probably correct about some experiencing worse sound with straight usb. I'm sure, that this also depends on the gear being used and what kind of job, if any, that the gear does to handle the dirty 5v.

Power is very important to me, and it has made dramatic improvements across the board to the sound of my system in every aspect. No need for specifics, because as you remove the background noise all things improve.

I have also applied this power philosophy to my Carbon and even my Squeezebox. The Carbon is DC and fanless, and powered by a SOtM multi-rail power supply. I also built (kit) a power supply for the Squeezebox. The sound improvements, in my system, are not limited to usb vs. spdif, because I have always used spdif for my Squeezebox. So, going from the wall wart to the power supply for the Squeezebox was big.


More to discover