Most of my listening in recent years has been via a solid desktop audio system, which I've repeatedly upgraded over the past 2 years. In that time I used 4 different DACs, with signal coming from a 24/96 Musical Fidelity S/PDIF converter, which I upgraded to the 24/192 M.F. unit ~9 months ago. On all 4 DACs I compared USB to coax; on 2 of the 4, I compared also USB & coax to toslink/glass.
Here's what I heard:
1 - Coax sounded better to me with all 4 DACs. The difference was not particularly large: but was certainly audible.
2 - In all cases, coax sounded more relaxed, a bit less edgy/glassy--a more expansive, enjoyable sound vs USB and toslink/glass.
3 - In all cases, I heard these differences both through speakers and headphones (4 different headphones).
The problem with coax (the opportunity, as well) is there are so many brands, designs & differing costs. No one can listen to all the coax cables that get mentioned/praised in reviews and forums. I began with an inexpensive Billy Jeans 1.5M coax, which I preferred to USB (Belkin Gold) or SonicWave "Impact" toslink/glass.
Then, based on favorable reviews from sources I trust, I upgraded to a 1.3M cable by Oyaide (DR-510), ~$220 shipped direct from Japan. It immediately sounded better than the BJs in every way--again, rather subtle but welcome differences.
My current DAC is IMO endgame-quality: Audio GD NOS 19 (an R2 R, non-oversampling design). It's 5 months old & has the latest Amanero USB implementation. This is a very fine sounding unit, and the Oyaide coax pushed it even further in the direction of relaxed (yet more than sufficiently detailed), analogue-like sound.
I will soon replace the M.F. 24/192 converter with the Singxer SU-1, which has been very favorably reviewed in multiple publications & platforms. I will revisit the USB vs coax vs glass with the SU-1.
Pls note that in all cases, the USB signal is conveyed via a USB Regen device.
Here's what I heard:
1 - Coax sounded better to me with all 4 DACs. The difference was not particularly large: but was certainly audible.
2 - In all cases, coax sounded more relaxed, a bit less edgy/glassy--a more expansive, enjoyable sound vs USB and toslink/glass.
3 - In all cases, I heard these differences both through speakers and headphones (4 different headphones).
The problem with coax (the opportunity, as well) is there are so many brands, designs & differing costs. No one can listen to all the coax cables that get mentioned/praised in reviews and forums. I began with an inexpensive Billy Jeans 1.5M coax, which I preferred to USB (Belkin Gold) or SonicWave "Impact" toslink/glass.
Then, based on favorable reviews from sources I trust, I upgraded to a 1.3M cable by Oyaide (DR-510), ~$220 shipped direct from Japan. It immediately sounded better than the BJs in every way--again, rather subtle but welcome differences.
My current DAC is IMO endgame-quality: Audio GD NOS 19 (an R2 R, non-oversampling design). It's 5 months old & has the latest Amanero USB implementation. This is a very fine sounding unit, and the Oyaide coax pushed it even further in the direction of relaxed (yet more than sufficiently detailed), analogue-like sound.
I will soon replace the M.F. 24/192 converter with the Singxer SU-1, which has been very favorably reviewed in multiple publications & platforms. I will revisit the USB vs coax vs glass with the SU-1.
Pls note that in all cases, the USB signal is conveyed via a USB Regen device.