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need help with computer output

djnagle said:
Is there a discernable sound quality difference between a USB and Optical coax???
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Oh man, that is a can of worms question. Search the forums and you will get many opinions. The bottom line in my opinion, is that for a $5 adapter, your friend can have digital output. If its not good enough, then look at a usb adapter.
 
Yep, that is what he is going to do. I was just asking for myself. I ordered a Schiit Modius and use USB now from my Raspberry Pi to my current DAC which only has USB.
 
My experience with USB vs. Optical led me to use USB only. I experienced significant jitter and dropouts with the optical connection. Of course this was a test using a Synology D415+ network attached storage box so YMMV.

Good luck and that was a great call on the Schiit Modius!
 
I have the Modi1 from Sciit. The performance of my Modi1 is completely dependent on the software that is driving it. I have an up to date computer with 3.0 USB. I am using JRiver and before I had it configured correctly the sound wasn't optimal. JRiver had a dropdown menu for output format where I selected the Modi1 and the sound completely changed. The realism is amazing. Digital sources need proper drivers to work properly.
 
I used the optical output through the headphone jack in a 2010 MacBook Pro into a an internal DAC in an integrated amp and it worked fine, no jitter and no dropouts. I also have been using the optical output of either an Airport Express or Apple TV into stand alone DACs when streaming my loseless ripped CDs via WiFi for over 11 years and never observed any jitter or dropouts. The sound quality is excellent and in fact is better than any of the 3 CD players that I had (Sony, Denon and Oppo) and better than my newer Oppo.
 
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Lou G said:
never observed any jitter or dropouts
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Clock jitter isn't a gross fault that you would hear as an obvious artefact. It's a more subtle degradation, as a form of harmonic distortion. Essentially, it's a form of frequency modulation of the sampling clock. In RF engineering terms, it would be called phase noise.
 
Ok, my friend is moving from Orlando to Miami and put this all on hold. Them new house will be ready for move in by may. He already packed his audio system so I'll post again after he moves.
 
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