Thanks, that makes things more clear. So even though everything has a buffer, it sounds like it is operating off the clock of the source, unless it is asynchronous which reclocks the signal with its own (hopefully) high precision clock. Is it safe to say that all CD transports will sound the same if one uses an asynchronous DAC?
Jitter, CDPs, Transports and Streaming
In my personal, digital audio journey, I have found that I prefer the sound of CD players over streaming through my computer to a DAC. I have tried 4-5 different steaming/transport configurations and found CD players to sound more natural with less digital glare and cause less listener fatigue in each comparison I made. I attribute this to jitter and the increased levels caused by noisy computer environments and the additional circuitry and wiring between a source/transport and DAC. I am sure component quality plays a role here and I’m sure there are CD transport and DAC combinations that sound better than some standalone CD players.
I got to thinking that DACs have buffers that they read from and realized that the upstream source shouldn’t matter, but they apparently do. Why doesn’t the buffer completely eliminate the relevance of the quality of the source? Are there types of DACs, like asynchronous DACs, that make the CD transport or computer source quality irrelevant?
I got to thinking that DACs have buffers that they read from and realized that the upstream source shouldn’t matter, but they apparently do. Why doesn’t the buffer completely eliminate the relevance of the quality of the source? Are there types of DACs, like asynchronous DACs, that make the CD transport or computer source quality irrelevant?