Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

I can only speculate that maybe the circuits in the Ethernet receiver react differently to slower edge-rates and poor signal integrity. Maybe the setup timing margins are smaller. This might cause the propagated signals to have more jitter.

To add to Steve's comment, it seems very conceivable to me that in some and perhaps many less than perfect designs a small but potentially significant fraction of the signal energy received by the Ethernet interface may find its way **around** that circuitry (via grounds, power supplies, parasitic capacitances, etc.), and end up introducing noise onto the signals which control timing of D/A conversion.

All of the energy of a signal doesn't necessarily follow only its intended/ideal pathway.  Especially when the signal contains spectral components at very high frequencies, as in the case of Ethernet.

Regards,
-- Al 

A moment away from our current topic to digress: 

A recent study showed that people who feel emotionally stimulated and get goosebumps from listening to music have a higher ratio of neural activity (visualized on PET scan) between their auditory cortex  and emotional center. They actually have more fibers connecting these regions then others do.

I have been saying for a long time how lucky we are that we can elicit the level of enjoyment from both music and its proper reproduction. And that some people simply can’t appreifate it the way we do. Now I have facts to back up my statement.

@mattnshilp, very interesting comment, thanks for posting.

I read a relatively recent article by the gentlemen who created the usb audio stream transfer standard (I don’t know the technical jargon, I apologize) that compared usb to Ethernet. It lauded the potential advantages of Ethernet but he was of the opinion that it would be quite some time before the benefits of Ethernet streaming would be able to be properly implemented and utilized, as most don’t do it properly. And that usb, when truly done properly, has a long life still ahead of it.

I have discussed this with both Steve and CTsooner. The answer depends on whom you ask. But the basic premise is that until the majority of music servers start to implement a proper dedicated Ethernet music output directed specifically from the server to the DAC (separate from the Ethernet entering the server from the switch or router), we are not getting the most it can offer, not close.

There are only a handful of dac’s that even have a properly implemented Ethernet input. And even fewer music servers that have a properly implemented dedicated Ethernet output. I can honestly only think of 2’ish.

Just because something is theoretically the best doesn’t make its current implementation of that technology the best. Eventually I have no doubt it will be the standard. But for now, with the equipment I have, usb is king.