@richardbrand - can't say for sure, but I'd guess that most people who stream do it from their phones....
Why does USB feature so much in discussions about DACs when the newer HDMI seems better?
I am a bit confused about the frequent mention of USB in the context of stand-alone Digital to Analog Converters (DAC). Why is HDMI left out? Is this a US versus Europe / Asia thing?
The Universal Serial Bus (USB) was introduced in 1996 by a group of computer manufacturers primarily to support plug-and-play for peripherals like keyboards and printers. It has only two signal wires, plus two wires that can supply DC power.
The High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) was specifically designed by a group of television manufacturers for transmitting digital audio and video in many formats. It hit the shops around 2004. There are 19 pins supporting four shielded twisted pairs, and seven other wires (3 of which can instead form a shielded twisted pair for Ethernet).
I have three universal disk players from Sony, Panasonic and Reavon, which all have two HDMI outputs, one can be dedicated to audio only, the other carries video or video plus audio. (Only the Panasonic does not support SACD). My Marantz AV 8802 pre-processor has 11 HDMI connections and only two USBs.
Of course, both USB and HDMI continue to evolve. Then there is the Media-Oriented System Transport (MOST) bus designed by the automotive industry, which looks even better.
Why is it so?
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@emergingsoul maybe this. I have one I’ve used just for digital audio output and worked well.
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I used to stream from my Mac mini using the headphone out into an adapter for optical. But your limited to 96khz 24 bit. With an external streamer/dac like auralic, you can stream much higher resolution with less noise from a computer. 192khz/24bit and 512 dsd. No usb connection, all Ethernet for streaming or wireless and balanced output. |
- 36 posts total