Most DDCs include a reclocker, but many DDCs include a USB input, but not a USB output. They will connect to the DAC using SPDIF, AES3, Toslink or I2S. A USB reclocker, on the other hand, generally has just USB in and out.
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I think you’re potentially getting more benefit out of a DDC especially if it allows you to take advantage if your DAC’s i2S or AES/EBU input that often provide significant sonic advantages. Especially if the DDC also re-clocks the data and using the i2S connection I’d think the clock becomes less of an issue, but I could be wrong on that. I bought a used Denafrips Iris DDC and was pretty shocked at the improvement I got switching from the SPDIF to i2S input on my DAC. Just my $0.02 FWIW. |
Musician Pegasus. The other surprising thing is I’m hearing these significant benefits from the Iris and i2S through a very cheap 6” HDMI cable from Monoprice… https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13578 So, I’m thinking either the HDMI cable doesn’t have much impact on sound with i2S (as long as it’s short) or I’ve got further improvements in store when I upgrade my HDMI cable to something from DH Labs, etc. |
A couple of years ago, I added a Denafrips Gaia to a Terminator DAC and switched from AES3 to I2S. To start out, I used an $12 HDMI cable from Amazon. This provided a very noticeable improvement over the AES3 connection. I later upgraded to a Tubulus Argentus i2s cable ($549) based on favorable reviews. This was an improvement, but not as significant as switching from AES to i2S in the first place. |
@jaytor I read the same thing from others who upgraded their HDMI cables — marginal improvement versus switching to i2S. |
go for USB RECLOCK,
because you can double it or even triple it before to the dac with just USB connection which DDC can't. And choose the reclock with external DC power input so you can choose better power supply externally. cause external power better in reducing jitter. I'm connecting x3 RECLOCK & x3 power supply before to my dac. |