2. digital
  3. 139223-115924

Flaws in this chain?

New to streaming and such. Is there a serious weak link in this chain?:

MacBook Pro with Tidal (hi res)------wireless to-----Apple TV-----toslink to-----Schiit Modi 2 Uber-----RCA cable to----Line stage.

I know that the Schiit is no great shakes in terms of a DAC but is there any other serious limitation in the chain? Thanks.

George
n80
n80 OP
2,112 posts
 
All that I can say is that using the chain I described in the OP above, the SQ is not particularly good...but it is with basic iTunes files....which don't sound too good to me most of the time anyway.

I have not compared a hi-res ripped CD through the ATV vs direct connect to the computer. 

Probably won't bother as I'm finding I can preview stuff okay via the ATV when I'm lazy. If/when I go to hi-res Tidal I will experiment some more.
djones51
4,947 posts
 
So, Macbook Tidal  > wireless> ATV> DAC> preamp sounds kind of lousy and itunes the same chain sounds better?  My guess is it's tidal but I never used tidal so have no direct knowledge. Can tidal be installed on the ATV ?  I use an integrated amp/dac/streamer so I might not be the best for ideas but it looks like a lot of nodes involved. To me even ripped CD on my  NAS wireless to my integrated  doesn't quite have the SQ as CDP digital to the integrated but it's close, blind I might not be able to tell. So far I have only listened to internet radio over my integrated which isn't bad for casual been waiting on Qobuz to try hi - res streaming. 
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Yes, jitter was the #1 issue which is why I'm glad they have figured it out in well designed modern dacs that have been made in the last 20 years or so.

Some designers have started to figure it out, but not many IME. Most USB interfaces suck because of the high jitter.  Most internal reclockers are poorly implemented and don't do a good job.

 I will admit that the jitter in the average component has improved a lot since the inception of the CD, but most designers still have a LOT to learn.

I recently made improvements to my reclocker that reduced the jitter from 22psec to 7psec.  Did I notice the difference?  Absolutely.  Did my customers notice the difference? Absolutely.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

audioengr
3,282 posts
 
...the digital stream , the 1’s and 0’s, are sent to the DAC that converts to analog, as long as those 1’s and 0’s get there the DAC reconstructs them using it’s clock since the embedded clock information and any jitter that was sent in the stream has been isolated out

In an ideal world, but that's not the world we live in.  PLL's and downstream buffers, registers and dividers are all affected.  IF there is a reclocker in the DAC, then the effect is usually less, but if you can change coax cables and hear the difference, then source jitter still matters.  If it really worked as good as you claim, then everyone here would only need a $20 Markertek coax cable to achieve the best SQ.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

djones51
4,947 posts
 
I use a $20 blue jeans belden coax cable and my SQ is good enough for me. Obviously you know more about this than I do. All I know is what I have read. 
More to discover