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Ditch your USB cable for Toslink? Might surprise you!

I recently embarked on experiments with an updated USB cable between an Aurender N100h and a Qutest dac. (cables were Pangea, Curious and DH Labs) Bottom line, it  most definitely revealed improvements but also exposed some flaws. So I looked into other tweaks to improve the chain...reclockers, decrapifiers and the likes. All these devices designed to fix inherent issues with USB. So I had the "duhhhh" moment and thought instead of fixing it....replace it.

I went out on a limb and got Aurender's UT100, a device which converts the USB output to Toslink (best option as the N100h only has usb out). I connect a modest Audioquest Cinnamon cable to it and I've been testing and burning in this new device and the input on the dac for several days now, Redbook all the way up to 24/192. And I must say I'm impressed, really impressed. I'll summarize my experience by saying it's just as detailed, but with a more relaxed presentation, no digital "grunge". This is the first time I've even considered trying the incisive filters on the Qutest.

I think Toslink is looked down on as a digital interface, but I'm seeing some big advantages to it now.

  1.  You gain 100% isolation, it totally "air gaps" your dac from every form of interference. I've personally experienced some Bermuda Triangle kinda weird issues with USB and there have been lots of posts lately regarding this. Fiber puts an end to that....period!
  2. The price of admission is downright cheap, most streamers and dacs already have the connections and I don't think you have to pay a lot for a quality fiber cable.
  3. On some dacs it's generally accepted that the SP/DIF connections sound better than their USB counterparts. I've also read that disconnecting the USB cable from a dac, turns off it's internal clock and associated circuitry, thus less noise internally.....?? I have no clue but what I am warming up to is the idea that I want to stay away from USB. I've had great results with coax too, going back to my Theta and Sony ES days, but Toslink is cheap, allows long cables if needed and does truly isolate the dac. 

I'd encourage everyone to just try it, perhaps your equipment will respond favorably  like mine did. I'd love to hear other's experiences, especially Node3 owners. I'm planning on getting one for my office rig.

 Tim

 

treynolds155
treynolds155 OP
184 posts
 

Well I wouldn't say it's evil, just that there may be advantages to other connections in some systems, and a necessity in others. The Bermuda Triangle weirdness I mentioned earlier was a MacBook Pro running wireless and on battery that made a horrendous noise connected to an Arcam irDac via usb, music didn't even have to be playing. Sounded like a ground loop on steroids. How is that even possible? But an optical cable made the problem go away. 

@carlsbad In my case the only streamer output is usb, so I had no choice but to try a converter if I was going to use a different input on the dac. Ideally it would have been toslink out > fiber > toslink in. I do however think there is potential with some of these decrapifiers, reclockers or converters. In theory a flawed signal goes in and a newly minted "perfect" signal goes out. You could very well be right though.

My only point is, I like many audiophiles, tend to snub our noses at toslink. What I'm hearing now has really changed my opinion of that. Honestly I didn't think it was capable of this high a level of performance. Most streamers and dacs already have the connections, if yours does I'd give it a try. Digital audio is like a box of chocolates so maybe you'll like it in your system, maybe you won't. Mine is staying.

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

@treynolds155 USB is ubiquitous in modern HIFI and unfortunately we're stuck with it until more mainstream manufacturers like PS Audio adopt I2s.

Since we can only play native DSD over USB and I2s, these are our options, unless DSD is not important to the user.

For the doubters out there I2s HDMI sounds differently from I2s RJ45, I have had best results with RJ45.

Like yourself I experimented with many options to reduce USB jitter but nothing has worked as well as converting it to I2s.

So, good luck with your research, bits are not bits.

 

sns
3,301 posts
 

I'd like to see more choices in streaming dacs, all rendering taking place within, avoids complexity and possible mismatch. As things stand, dac and streaming expertise far too segregated. 

antigrunge2
1,427 posts
 

The OP omits the clock synchronisation in USB that slaves the server to the DAC. A well clocked USB asynchronous connection with a good cable in normal circumstances is superior to Toslink.

treynolds155 OP
184 posts
 

@antigrunge2 Not being argumentative, strictly out of curiosity, but why do you think a well implemented USB setup is superior....higher bandwidth potential?

I thought the same thing until recently too, but I can't ignore the results I'm getting now. I really think this is very much system dependent, much like the balanced vs unbalanced cable debate. I certainly don't think Toslink is the end all interface. 

It's also interesting that the highly regarded Berkeley dacs don't even have USB as an input option. They do sell a $2,000 outboard USB to AES or SP/DIF converter though, and Innuos has their PhoenixUSB reclocker at $3,500 .....YIKES. 

The deeper I dig into all this, the more I realize how much I don't know. 🤔

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