2. digital
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1s are 1s, 0s are 0s, right?

I have been in somewhat of a debate over on the "PC Audio" forum here at A'gon. In a thread titled "Sound card with external DAC."

I would like a few opinions on whether Redbook data is just data, meaning that it really makes no difference what cable is used to transmit the digital signal or which transport is used to obtain it.

It seems logical that so long as the signal is in the digital realm, that 1s and 0s are well, just that. But I digress, personally I feel that everything makes a difference. Transports and cables both can effect the sound.

Am I just hearing things? Or maybe is the end product(sound) more than the sum of its parts (data)? Your thoughts are appreciated.
distortion
sdcampbell
2,136 posts
 
The better technical articles that I've read on this subject conclude that interconnects do make a difference, but not for the same reasons that IC's affect the fidelity of an analog signal. Most of the articles I've read state that the primary factor that affects IC's carrying a digital signal is the impedance. The "best" digital cables are those with a 75 ohm impedance (which apparently minimize the reflection of the signal back toward the signal source), while cables that have a higher impedance "bounce" the signal, causing distortion.
unsound
7,341 posts
 
010101 may not sound like 0 1 0 1 0 1.
bomarc
501 posts
 
Picking up on your last paragraph, I'd say you are probably just hearing things in this case. (Which doesn't mean you're crazy, by the way. Tests show that humans have a tendency to hear differences even when none exist.) There probably are some really bad cables out there that actually make a muck of things, though I suspect badly designed transports and DACs are more likely the culprit, if indeed there is a culprit. But audio is simply not a data-intensive application, so getting it right is close to trivial for engineers who know what they're doing.
distortion OP
571 posts
 
What about comparing a low dollar laser/pickup to a high dollar one. Would there not be a few 1s and 0s lost here and there? Or misinterpreted somehow?

I didnt mention DACs as thats too obvious, in my comparisons the Speakers, Amps, Preamps, Cables, everything from the outboard DAC on stayed the same. All the obvious culprits didnt change, just the digital domain stuff.

It stands to reason that as long as the transport succesfully gathers data from the disc, it wouldnt matter how poorly designed it is. But clearly it does.

And yeah Hpshps, I read a bunch right here under the "Cables" forum. Its just that this is a fun topic for me. =)
viggen
838 posts
 
You answered it yourself. Everything makes a difference.
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