How important are transports?


I figure this is a pretty ignorant question, but I have never really discussed it with anybody. I have a birdland dac and was wondering how much real difference the quality of the transport makes? Will it have a real impact on sound quality? Thanks.
sean34
Scrith,

I didn't say that timing was not important or the total problem. I said as long as the one's and zero's are there. In the case of reclocking the signal it gets more complicated than that. There is a reason we use stratum clocks in the tellecommunications industry at both ends of the signal.

So I will say it again, as long as the one's and zero's are there. Then you get into the checksum software you used to varify the correct reading of the bits. Did it read the bit length?

The transport and the cable can and do make a big difference.
One more question, I like the dvd audio a lot, is there a dvd player I could use as a transport that would be as high of quality as some of the transports mentioned above? Thanks
I've been reading about modders like Audioengineer(Steve) AKA Empirical audio that have tested some of there modded players before and after a clock upgrade.Their results show the jitter dropped dramaticlly coming out of the S/PDIF output.My guess is it shouldn't be difficult to get a dvd player to perform as well or better than some stand alone transports.
Jeff_jones - No, It is not the AC power "pollution". It is generally the jitter spectrum that varies from one transport to the next and the edge-rate of the S/PDIF signal, as well as the impedance mismatch. I have found lots of transport S/PDIF outputs that are not even remotely matched to 75 ohms characteristic impedance.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer
Sean34 - the Sony DVP-S7700 or the Pioneer DV-47A (needs Superclock3).