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Is USB or optical better for sound?
Both will work fine, but optical has some major benefits over USB that just pushes it into first place. Not being affected by electrical and radio interference is a major advantage to me in the audio world. Personally I always use optical audio when possible.
Is USB better than Toslink?
Toslink is the best solution as far as isolation goes, I can’t speak for the jitter as I have little to no info about jitter cancelation on toslink, but USB has way better master<->slave communication and synchronization means.
Is SPDIF good quality?
SPDIF also works as the best way to deliver high-quality audio from the input component to the output component. It is one of the standards ways to connect home-theaters with receivers, or to make Dolby Surround System and DTS work, due to their high-fidelity build.
Is SPDIF asynchronous?
SPDIF is a real time stream; any fluctuation in the clock of the sender translates into input jitter. By design asynchronous USB allows for an implementation with a very low intrinsic jitter.
What’s the difference between SPDIF and USB audio?
SPDIF allows 20 bits, optional 24 bits audio and the sample rate could be as high as 192 kHz. The send rate of the SPDIF bus is used to generate the sample rate. SPDIF is a real time stream; any fluctuation in the clock of the sender translates into input jitter. USB in isochronous mode (used for audio) runs at a fixed rate.
What’s the difference between DAC and S / PDIF?
Words are one thing, data is another. So let’s see measure the performance of S/PDIF and DAC on the same USB and see how they differ. Alas, USB seems to have taken the market by the storm and increasingly DACs have only USB input.
Which is better USB or SPDIF or RCA?
The SPDIF RCA connection does sound fuller, bigger soundstage, and more detail than the USB connection. I also feel more emotionally engaged to the music than the USB connection. I may try some more digital cables later on to see how good this can get.
Are there any problems with the S / PDIF interface?
Problem with S/PDIF is that it makes the source the “master,” forcing the DAC to chase its timing. This means that if the source S/PDIF signal is not very clean, it can impact target DAC performance. Fortunately over the years S/PDIF interface has been perfected a lot and even in low cost implementation it can be excellent.