2. digital
  3. 194442-192372

We Need To Talk About Ones And Zeroes

Several well-respected audiophiles in this forum have stated that the sound quality of hi-res streamed audio equals or betters the sound quality of traditional digital sources.

These are folks who have spent decades assembling highly desirable systems and whose listening skills are beyond reproach. I for one tend to respect their opinions.

Tidal is headquartered in NYC, NY from Norwegian origins. Qobuz is headquartered in Paris, France. Both services are hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud infrastructure services giant that commands roughly one third of the world's entire cloud services market.

AWS server farms are any audiophile's nightmare. Tens of thousands of multi-CPU servers and industrial-grade switches crammed in crowded racks, miles of ordinary cabling coursing among tens of thousands of buzzing switched-mode power supplies and noisy cooling fans. Industrial HVAC plants humming 24/7.

This, I think, demonstrates without a doubt that audio files digitally converted to packets of ones and zeroes successfully travel thousands of miles through AWS' digital sewer, only to arrive in our homes completely unscathed and ready to deliver sound quality that, by many prominent audiophiles' account, rivals or exceeds that of $5,000 CD transports. 

This also demonstrates that digital transmission protocols just work flawlessly over noise-saturated industrial-grade lines and equipment chosen for raw performance and cost-effectiveness.

This also puts in perspective the importance of improvements deployed in the home, which is to say in the last ten feet of our streamed music's multi-thousand mile journey.

No worries, I am not about to argue that a $100 streamer has to sound the same as a $30,000 one because "it's all ones and zeroes".

But it would be nice to agree on a shared-understanding baseline, because without it intelligent discourse becomes difficult. The sooner everyone gets on the same page, which is to say that our systems' digital chains process nothing less and nothing more than packets of ones and zeroes, the sooner we can move on to genuinely thought-provoking stuff like, why don't all streamers sound the same? Why do cables make a difference? Wouldn't that be more interesting?

devinplombier
cleeds
6,115 posts
 

jeffbij

I have no idea what some of these companies do to create an "audiophile" switch.  I have seen a few ... All I know is that my Enterprise level Cisco switch in my basement will out perform it.

What audiophile switches have you tried?

bolong
726 posts
 

So am I misconstruing here that a high end battery backed power supply for the whole hi-fi system should be conducive to a cleaner signal even from the packeted network servers?

devinplombier OP
587 posts
 

@kennyc 

I'm confused. You give jeffbij a +1, then you apparently trash his post.

Did you mean to give the +1 to another poster?

hbarrel's avatar
hbarrel
435 posts
 

Since the concept of “noise” in a data stream is an unknown value to me, and I took  machine and assembly language classes eons ago, I asked ChatGTP: what is noise in a data stream of 1’s and 0’s?

Noise in a data stream of 1’s and 0’s refers to unwanted alterations or interference that causes the bits (1s and 0s) to be received incorrectly compared to how they were transmitted. More precisely:

 

  • In digital communication, noise can flip a 1 to a 0 or a 0 to a 1, leading to bit errors.
  • The source of noise can be electrical interference, thermal fluctuations, crosstalk, radio frequency interference (RFI), or signal degradation over distance.
  • Unlike analog noise (which adds distortion), digital noise usually results in discrete errors—incorrect bits—not gradual degradation.

Example:

If a clean digital stream is:

10110010

And due to noise it is received as:

10111010

The 5th bit has been flipped from 0 to 1—this is a direct result of noise.

Summary:

Noise in a digital data stream is any interference that causes incorrect or unintended changes to the transmitted binary data, resulting in bit errors.

 

Would you like to know how systems correct for or detect such errors (e.g., using error-correcting codes)?

devinplombier OP
587 posts
 

@jsalerno277 

Please forgive in advance my philosophical pontification

It is more than forgiven, it is appreciated!

While your response is factually incorrect as noted by others, it is thoughtful and articulate and a pleasure to read 🙏

 

 

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