Music Server/DAC – Ethernet, USB, S/PDIF, AES3 or I2S.

@lalitk 

“ … In audio, the best in our minds is what we can afford at present.…”

+1 

 

 

 

@Akg_ca I prescribe to the PS Audio architecture with a Bridge II network card In my DAC hitting a NUC rock fed by Tidal and Qubuz. I have electrically isolated the DAC network card by converting to optical then back to LaN right before the last 1ft of LaN. The optical to wire box is powered by ifi pure. I believe Paul's theory about digital feed and am wary of reclockers upstream of a high quality DAC which will have it's own clock. I believe the I2S is the best protocol and understand it works best as a direct connection i.e. no cables. Probably get some pushback from some who have spent big on cables and reclockers...

With my Bluesound Node N130 and Gustard x26 pro, I am definitely in the USB camp (Gustard doing re-clock and dac). It sounds better all the time. Seems like there is either a burn-in period for the DH Labs silver sonic USB cable or the Bluesound or both. Probably more the cable, but I will never know since I bought them both together. But who cares, now my streaming equals CDs and vinyl. All three have a slightly different different presentation but are all just as satisfying. Amazing that it only took a couple months and one failed attempt to get there with the streaming. Lesson: Streaming is easy when done right. Analog is hard.

What an easy to read/understand  article.

Thanks for sharing.

Usb is a flawed connection to a dac no matter what. You can buy all the reclockers/tweaks that you want to clean up the signal but in the end, it’s still bad. Your better dacs give you better options than usb. If you look at some of the better dacs they don’t include usb.