We Need To Talk About Ones And Zeroes

I keep reading the same old stance from folks that either don’t stream or streaming for fun with their fancy analog or CD players. You know who you are :-)

It’s not about the data but about the context (emotional, physical, psychological) in which it’s delivered. Think about it before you eager to call out the cult-like belief in well designed streamers with premium parts without understanding why something works and works well over mass produced streamers. 

I have compared streamers ranging from $500 to $25K. You don’t have to spend $25K to get a great sound, but pick a streamer that is well engineered to deliver bit-perfect digital output by implementing low-noise design, stable clocking, robust power supply and isolation (ethernet noise or power rail interference). 

So why some of the streamers sound different? Because they prioritize  aforementioned underlined elements that ultimately impacts how bitstream is distributed to your DAC. 

The message should be; don’t fall for over-priced pseudo tech without due diligence be it a DAC, Streamer or Switches. 

A complex topic when allied to digital music reproduction, made more difficult by S/PDIF.

Assuming sound engineering the bits at the output of the receiver in your device at the end of the Cat 5 cable are precisely the same as the bits stored at the source.  If they were not the modern world would collapse as no transaction could be relied upon.

Setting aside the linearity of the DAC chip(s) there are then, however, two (digital) issues that arise; what data gets presented to the DAC processor (the component(s) inside the "DAC" box that generate the analog signal) and when is that data presented. 

Unlike the TCP/IP ethernet or WiFi connection the S/PDIF has error detection but not correction so a truly terrible digital interconnect could, I suppose, result in bit errors, resulting in data loss.

My suspicion is that any unwanted artifacts that are caused by changing between decent digital cables are caused by jitter being introduced and not eliminated by processing before the data is presented to the actual DAC chip(s).

I did an experiment with different cables between my Aurender N100SC and the Esoteric K-01XD.  My baseline is the Cardas Clear USB connection, and I do have an external Stanford Systems Research rubidium clock.

The three cables that I tested were an MIT from the 90's, a "Trubutaries" Video Cable - not high end, not even a specific digital interconnect, and a two meter audio junk interconnect from who knows when (or why).

I did not listen extensively but the MIT cable and the Video cable were indistinguishable.  The junk interconnect however was clearly not up to the task, the sonic quality sounded like hard clipping was occurring!  

The Esoteric K series DACs have buffering and clock synchronization before the actual DAC processor, that appears to have taken care of any jitter issues.

I suspect that the audio cable did not have the bandwidth to support the 1.2MHz 24 48 S/PDIF signal and so there were data errors. (S/PDIF has a parity bit, hence 25x48,000  = 1.2MHz).

BTW, I take exception to a total dismissal of switch mode power supplies.  OK regarding wall-warts, but, for example, Benchmark have transitioned to use SMS to reduce noise.  It all depends on the quality of the power supply.

Once again, my apologies if I am a bit off-topic, but an interesting question makes my mind diverge onto allied topics.

one of my favorite threads ever.  starts with servers - one guy claims servers need a couple weeks burn-in before their sound is optimal - but then makes a hard right on page 3 to switches, where one guy explains that the reason you can’t hear a difference between a $20 switch and a $700 switch is that you have to spend at least $3500 on a switch before there’s a difference.  Not making this up:

old thread

@mdalton

That thread you linked is very good indeed. It features some definitive viewpoints.

I don't need to read anything from anybody anymore. I know the truth.

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Ok I'll chime in...the equipment we buy whether its an 80 dollar wiim mini or the top of the line wiim, will in many cases will be wholly adequate because it isnt the weak link in the chain. Many of us or at least some of us have quite limited financial means to buy stupid expensive equipment and I put myself in that category. Choices are made based on bang per buck, feature set and yes overall performance too. Streaming hi bit rate audio is on most affordable equipment going to be just as good as physical media held in your hand. Are there issues with streaming? Well sure there are...sometimes its just not good, but most of the time it is superb. The physical media is better, more stable and provides consistent performance. Its also a lot more 'work' - getting up from something I am working on to change a CD is not a welcome interruption. Streaming avoids that event and just keeps going like the energizer bunny. Choose a stream and get to doing whatever it is you need to do while you enjoy some tunes in the background...maybe a fave comes on and you crank it up and take a  'song break' from your work. Or maybe its a kick back evening, a few drinks some good music from a favorite channel...at near concert levels. Oh yeah I have done a few of those. OR maybe its streaming in the kitchen while you make dinner. Streaming is compelling, both for its really high quality and for its convenience. I may never replace all those CDs I lost in the fire...but the jury is still out on that. As far as the equipment you use, choose what you like you only have to justify your choice to yourself. If a 30,000 dollar Streamer/DAC is what it takes to make you happy then go for it, my 339 dollar Wiim Ultra streamer and the emotiva amp that follows it along with a cheap 10" sub and a pair of Opal bookshelfs from Dayton audio represents a roughly 2000 dollar investment that makes my desktop system an amazing experience. Especially for the money. None of these components are the best in their category probably, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. And it just works. No fuss, Astonishing performance especially for piano music, which in my experience is extremely hard to reproduce accurately. Yet I find myself listening to mostly Piano music on this cheap little system.  The drawbacks: it does not have the dynamic range to play at live levels for orchestral or rock concerts... but that isnt how I use this system. Living in an apartment with neighbors requires a certain amount of restraint in using the loud pedal. So...it is enough for the circumstances. And I think that is the real message here, we all have different living situations and have differing requirements and preferences. There is no 'one size fits all' in making these choices. My vote is for streaming for its convenience and not requiring storage space for the physical media. Since I lost most of that in the fire, replacing the media and the storage cabinets to hold it all is a sizable investment that is getting harder by the day to justify. I am trying to simplify my life not make it more complicated. I don't know if any of this resonates with those following this thread, but as Mark Knopfler would say "do your worst" :)