Correct about recent USB. Anyhow we should follow what each DAC manufacturer recommends as best input.
Streamer output options
In my younger days, I was told so often that spdif was better than usb that it became doctrine. I'm in the market for a 2k$ish streamer and I see many higher end streamers with usb outputs that pass far higher res data than the spdif 192/24 does. My DAC takes either, but not i2s. Are the new implementations of usb now better than spdif?
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Agree that it depends on the manufacturer and how they design their equipment. My Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer has a USB output to my Holo Audio Cyan 2 and it sounds great. Got it used for under $2K from an excellent local dealer. I got a short cable that was just the right length from Pine Tree Audio made in good old Massachusetts. BTW I buy local whenever I can. Support your local dealers if you can before there’s nothing left but online options. |
I2S was pushed by those selling I2S. Trashing USB was a necessary part of this marketing campaign. I have an Innuos that is optimized for USB. I have a Grimm that is optimized for AES/EBU. I like the AES because it is a great connector and there are a lot of good cables available. However, there are now great cables available for USB. Bottom line, don’t buy a DAC or a Streamer just for I/O options. Use the option that the OEM recommends as they have implemented that option best. Beware of I2S as there is no standard for implemetation. So your DAC may do it one way and your streamer another. Jerry PS both options have been better than SPDIF in my experience, but SPDIF is better than optical. |
There were a couple of issues with early USB. It was not asynchronous, and early implementations of asynch were not universal. In addition, still recently, DAC vendors don’t always ensure the USB interface is galvanically isolated, which can cause digital and/or analog ground loops. The former increases jitter significantly, the latter adds hum. Especially bad when coming from a PC. S/PDIF, while lower bandwidth, over optical suffered none of these issues. Today USB is asynchronous and the highest possible bandwidth. Get an inexpensive USB isolator and you are good to go. Another thing that’s happened relatively recently is that the clocks in DAC’s have gotten amazingly good (and cheap) compared to pre-2000 days. This means that the highest possible resolution of a clock is next to the DAC and therefore it should be in charge of the timing from upstream, which is what happens with USB asynchronous. BTW, Ethernet is galvanically isolated by design, but not noise isolated due to coupling caps that may occur around transformer windings. |
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