So, is R2R the only way to get bit-perfect playback?
To my understanding, yes.
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In my experience, CD Transports can make a big difference in the sound. Having said that, less expensive transports use cheaper mechanisms, which tend to sound the same. You’ll need to spend more to get one with a really good mechanism. Also, you want a dedicated CD mechanism, not a universal one. I have a CEC TL-5, which uses their in-house belt drive system, rather than the standard direct drive. It has an analog-like ease and musical flow, that I really enjoy. I believe it is currently the least expensive way to get a CD Transport with a seriously good mechanism. The current US price is around $2800. Another option is one that uses the long discontinued Phillips CD Pro mechanism, but that will cost you quite a bit more. |
Steve N. well said. I have a PS Audio DirectStream DAC and transport, interconnected with an HDMI cable over their I2S interface. From what I understand, they reduce jitter (timing errors) with the separation of the bits from the timing on that interface. Long-story-short, when I replaced my prior transport with the DirectStream...WOW, nice upgrade! |
Actually, the separation of data, control and clocks in I2S bypasses the S/PDIF receiver and any upsampling that might be in the DAC, so the signal goes directly to the D/A without conditioning or synchronizing of clocks. I2S is the native interface for the D/A chip. This does not actually reduce jitter very much, except for this bypassing. The jitter of the source is what you get to hear, so the lower that jitter is, the better the sound quality. I like this approach because as new sources achieve lower jitter, the same DAC sounds better and better. My own Overdrive SX DAC is like this. If you think the PSAudio transport is good, you should hear my Ethernet Renderer, the Interchange, connected with HDMI I2S cable to your DAC. This will deliver signal with ~15psec of jitter. This can play files from any computer running Jriver or Minimserver. I hope you are using a very good silver I2S cable. This makes all the difference. FYI, I sell one of the best on the market. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
I promised to measure jitter for two cables for jc4659, a Belden and a Canare BNC cable. Here are the results: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.msg1669506#msg1669506 Steve N. Empirical Audio |
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