2. digital
  3. 134585-108327

Everything else being equal, should I expect better Spotify quality through wifi or USB?

As the title says, I'd like to get a nice sounding setup going to play spotify.  Seems I have two main options.

1) USB from desktop computer to DAC
2) Wifi into DAC

If the DAC, amp, speakers are the same, will one of these 2 options likely provide better sound quality?
dougmint
helomech
1,836 posts
 
Nope, they'll sound the same.
dougmint OP
21 posts
 
I have heard that computers are noisy, and that their internal clocks can cause issues with music playback.  I was thinking that this would impact the playback through the USB cable.  Do you get the same jitter/clock issues regardless of if you go through a USB or wifi?  What about if I go through an ethernet cable from my wifi hub into the DAC?  Any difference to be expected?
gdnrbob
4,506 posts
 
Though I have no technical knowledge, I have found USB to be the weakest link for music-like you say jitter and clock issues.
Ethernet, for me gives the best results, with WIFI (and having a strong signal) a close second.
B
More to discover