Is USB overrated as decent digital source?

I am very satisfied with the Slimdevices Transporter. It is the only device that I know of that will output AES/EBU and it also has a word clock input. The DAC is outstanding and probably every bit as good as my Audio Aero Capitole. Having said that, I still run it through my Audio Aero into my main listening room The Transporter's DAC is a bit too analytical for me. I run the analog feed from the Transporter into the next room.

The Transporter is connected to my Computer using RJ45 even though it has full wireless capacity. It works very well with my G5 itunes, to the point that I have not played a CD in quite a while. Also, I can search for streaming audio over the entire world by type, region, style of music, etc.

Listening to some of the African Nations has been fun. Check it out!

www.slimdevices.com

mikechai@gmail.com - anywhere near 1 nsec is high jitter in my book. For instance, the stock Squeezebox and AirPort Express have 300-400 psec, which is half what you are saying and I can easily hear the jitter.

Until you have heard really low jitter, you dont know what you have been listening to all these years...

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer

Firewire and USB are similar in performance. The advantage of USB is there are more drivers and better chips available that support it.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer

Unclejeff - It's a shame to spend $2K and just use the S/PDIF output. You would be better off to drive your DAC with I2S IMO. It's inherently superior and lower jitter.

Audioengr:

you have to study the Konnekt brochure a bit more carefully. The 1 ns jitter is for the complete A/D, D/D and D/A loop. They developed their own firewire software driver for mac and pc, the mentioned Dice II and Jet chips developed for jitter attenuation and stable and jitterless clock. It has a 12V 2A external power supply.

I am using a Konnekt 24D since last december with my Altmann DAC. In the last 2 and half years I tried dozens of different USB, USB2 and Firewire to SPDIF converters with coax and with Toslink outputs. None of them were working so well (for me at least, YMMV) as the Konnekt with my latest Macbook. I sold my Accuphase DP-100/DC-101 when I became familiar with the Macbook - based solutions. Never looked back. The only CD player which is in the same league was the Naim CD555. Nothing else.

Since last week-end I am using the Altmann Creation ADC as an SPDIF clock generator for the Konnekt, it is now externally synchronized to the battery driven ADC and its Ultra Precise Clock. Soon I will be using the Konnekt from the same battery as the ADC. Can not imagine more pleasure from my cds and high - res audio files.

You can find a picture of my system here:

http://www.penna-media.hu/altmnn/source/kf1.htm

and here:

http://www.penna-media.hu/altmnn/source/kf2.htm

It is one of my friends' system with a custom built CD Pro transport using a spruce board from Charles Altmann:

http://www.penna-media.hu/altmnn/source/system1_1.htm