Digital Audio Output Differences? Is USB Audio Really The Top-notch?

[Preston8452]

Hello guys,

So after some struggles between spending time in optimizing my PC audio functionalities and adopting a dedicated music streamer, I opted for the second one.
I purchased the Munich M1T by Silent Angel, given it's good reviews in UK and Germany and Switzerland, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, but frankly speaking, the mainly reason was because the price fits my wallet more hahahah...

Anyways, so there are several digital outputs on its back panel, AES/EBU; I2S(HDMI), Coaxial, USB Audio, hell hahah, I have literally no idea which one is better or which can provide a special feature or something, I mean it does show that the USB Audio supports up to up to PCM 768KHz and DSD 11.2M (DSD256), but does that the higher the sampling rate, the better the sound quality? I just can't make sure...

And if the USB Audio can provide the " best " digital sound quality, then why added other ports? Ain't that just costing more on the manufacturing end?
Hope you guys can give some insights on this, or share some of your experiences, because this is the first time I saw an AES/EBU port on a audio streamer...

Best,

 

[markramler]

Hello guys,

So after some struggles between spending time in optimizing my PC audio functionalities and adopting a dedicated music streamer, I opted for the second one.
I purchased the Munich M1T by Silent Angel, given it's good reviews in UK and Germany and Switzerland, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, but frankly speaking, the mainly reason was because the price fits my wallet more hahahah...

Anyways, so there are several digital outputs on its back panel, AES/EBU; I2S(HDMI), Coaxial, USB Audio, hell hahah, I have literally no idea which one is better or which can provide a special feature or something, I mean it does show that the USB Audio supports up to up to PCM 768KHz and DSD 11.2M (DSD256), but does that the higher the sampling rate, the better the sound quality? I just can't make sure...

And if the USB Audio can provide the " best " digital sound quality, then why added other ports? Ain't that just costing more on the manufacturing end?
Hope you guys can give some insights on this, or share some of your experiences, because this is the first time I saw an AES/EBU port on a audio streamer...

Best,

This is very helpful in understanding the architecture of digital streaming.

Solution Architecture - Antipodes Audio

We are often asked about what the best connection is to use between a music server and a DAC – Ethernet, USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or I2S. But this is not a question

antipodes.audio

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Hello guys,

So after some struggles between spending time in optimizing my PC audio functionalities and adopting a dedicated music streamer, I opted for the second one.
I purchased the Munich M1T by Silent Angel, given it's good reviews in UK and Germany and Switzerland, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, but frankly speaking, the mainly reason was because the price fits my wallet more hahahah...

Anyways, so there are several digital outputs on its back panel, AES/EBU; I2S(HDMI), Coaxial, USB Audio, hell hahah, I have literally no idea which one is better or which can provide a special feature or something, I mean it does show that the USB Audio supports up to up to PCM 768KHz and DSD 11.2M (DSD256), but does that the higher the sampling rate, the better the sound quality? I just can't make sure...

And if the USB Audio can provide the " best " digital sound quality, then why added other ports? Ain't that just costing more on the manufacturing end?
Hope you guys can give some insights on this, or share some of your experiences, because this is the first time I saw an AES/EBU port on a audio streamer...

Best,

@Preston8452 a very interesting question. The short answer: there is no perfect audio interface to use.

USB seems to be the most obvious answer since it has the largest compatibility.
I2S(via HDMI) is a new standard that is still settling in. I've seen a few different pinouts for this connection, so it's important to check it when used. I2S is an interface that is used by audio chips inside the gear, so it seems to be perfect, as it doesn't need conversions. On the other hand, it's prone to interference, especially over longer distances. That's why it needs relatively complex interfacing circuits and an HDMI cable.
Coax, AES/EBU and TOSLINK are in one group, as they are variants of the S/PDIF format (generally speaking). While they lack the bandwidth of previous ones they are still very popular. Those are one of the first digital audio interfaces.

So, which one is the best? Depends on your needs and your gear. If you want to use the newest hi-res formats, then both USB and I2S are the answer.
When interfacing with older DAC, S/PDIF based connections will probably sound the best, as this system is mature for many years already. When that device was made USB and I2S might still be fairly new and not that polished.

That also answers the question of why are there so many interfaces in Munich M1T. Every customer can have different needs and different gear.

 

[AThrillOfHope]

Hello guys,

So after some struggles between spending time in optimizing my PC audio functionalities and adopting a dedicated music streamer, I opted for the second one.
I purchased the Munich M1T by Silent Angel, given it's good reviews in UK and Germany and Switzerland, I thought it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, but frankly speaking, the mainly reason was because the price fits my wallet more hahahah...

Anyways, so there are several digital outputs on its back panel, AES/EBU; I2S(HDMI), Coaxial, USB Audio, hell hahah, I have literally no idea which one is better or which can provide a special feature or something, I mean it does show that the USB Audio supports up to up to PCM 768KHz and DSD 11.2M (DSD256), but does that the higher the sampling rate, the better the sound quality? I just can't make sure...

And if the USB Audio can provide the " best " digital sound quality, then why added other ports? Ain't that just costing more on the manufacturing end?
Hope you guys can give some insights on this, or share some of your experiences, because this is the first time I saw an AES/EBU port on a audio streamer...

Best,

There is also the reality that not all streamers have all of the output formats. My Innuos, for instance, will not output AES, even though my DAC will accept ALL the formats. Innuous (even on their top-flight Statement model) will only do USB and ethernet digital output. So I am forced to either replace my streamer or comply with their chosen formats (I went with USB, of course).

Simple differences in different manufacturers is a big factor in DACs offering many or all of the options.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

There is also the reality that not all streamers have all of the output formats. My Innuos, for instance, will not output AES, even though my DAC will accept ALL the formats. Innuous (even on their top-flight Statement model) will only do USB and ethernet digital output. So I am forced to either replace my streamer or comply with their chosen formats (I went with USB, of course).

Simple differences in different manufacturers is a big factor in DACs offering many or all of the options.

There is a reason behind that on the manufacturers' side. Having multiple outputs working simultaneously creates a lot of noise which harms the sound quality. In our streamers, we have solved it by switching outputs on and off. So you can have what you want, and the rest is turned off to reduce interference. An example of that is the Neo Stream

 

[unboxed]

Not all USB is created equal. Think of all the $20 dollar things with USB.

In my recent music server search I found some manufacturers listing USB as an expensive upgrade. One very respected DAC manufacturer told me USB was not the preferred input for their DAC. USB must be considered on a case-by-case basis. Not every manufacturer treats it equally.

 

[antigrunge]

The theoretical advantage of USB is that in asynchronous mode it slaves the server to the dac, i.e. the dac’s clocking determines the data release from the server. For this to work you need by order of importance: superb noise rejection via galvanic isolation at the dac end and careful design of the server port, superior clocking of the USB port and finally short, matched impedance cabling between dac and server. The major flaw of many USB implementations is the noise from the 5v DC line included in the protocol. Two possible sulutions here: where the DAC dosen’t need the DC feed for handshaking purposes, just cap the DC line. In all other cases use a dual USB cable where the 5v line is fed by a clean LPS. Properly implemented USB is a good way of connecting dac and server, most out of the box cabling and many dacs’ USB implementations give it a bad name, though.

 

[hopkins]

Here is a very interesting description by an audio engineer of the many issues of digital audio and USB in particular.

Is jitter an issue with usb signals ?

Funny how cables are still singled out when it comes to jitter. Nevermind that usb "jitter" doesn't matter at all with async. Nevermind that in the non-async modes, the timing of the host is probably worse by orders of magnitude that any deviation the cable could introduce. Nevermind that the...

www.diyaudio.com

There are pros and cons to each solution, and it is difficult to claim that usb is the best.

Ils best to have a digital source with différent types of output and try each DAC’s different inputs.

 

[godofwealth]

Chord’s Rob Watt has long argued that the optical connection is by far the best in terms of noise immunity. It’s his preferred choice. But it limits you in terms of codecs.

 

[musicfirst1]

As virtually every digital source component and DAC have different implementations of their I/O's, there is currently no one best digital interface solution. For Example, the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC is very close to sonically agnostic with respect to its multiplicity of inputs, with only the Inakustik Air Silver AES/EBU cable winning out by a silver sliver, while the equally amazing Aries Cerat Kassandra II REF DAC really shines with USB cable royalty.