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Old 02-05-2020, 05:31 PM
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dnf777 dnf777 is offline
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Default Best audio fidelity?

Hi all,
I’ve been taught that when listening to digitally stored or streamed music, it is best to use some type of D/A converter before your headphones or speakers. Seems like every conversion will lose some fidelity, and wouldn’t the analog signal ONLY be as good as the digital, at best?

And...once that is hashed out, does a Bluetooth connection change any of that? I know it doesn’t modify the signal per se, but it passes through less hardware for sure.

I used to think these “audio-snob” discussions were just that, but once I played with sampling rates, compression modes, etc, I certainly believe I can hear a difference. I think.

Thanks,
Dave
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Old 02-05-2020, 06:26 PM
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The only way to listen to a digital file is to use a D/A converter. It's just a question of what D/A you use. Your computer/phone, etc, has one built in. You can add an external one, which may be better quality. Those of us who record typically have interfaces that are used for audio playback (as well as recording) and that may cost as much or more than the computer. The audio in most modern computer's isn't all that bad, tho, or at least not as bad as they used to be. The format of the digital files may play a bigger role. If you're streaming, for example, you may have a very low bit rate - not much a better D/A can do about that.
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Old 02-05-2020, 08:22 PM
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What Doug said. If you were getting at something else please elaborate.
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Old 02-05-2020, 08:49 PM
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Incidentally, if you want to check your system, you might want to look at the "My Disk" Recordings from Sheffield Labs. (Amusingly, they're available on spotify and so on, which I sort of wonder how that works out, since they're limited by Spotify's streaming quality).

Many years ago I got the CDs and checked the various D/As I had (along with the rest of my signal chain). There are tracks that help you know how good your D/A is, among other things. The difference between my top end D/A at the time (CraneSong HEDD) and the PC SoundBlaster was significant. There was also a smaller difference between the HEDD (which passed with flying colors) and the RME Fireface I was using, and a few other signal paths. I'm not sure if there'd be as much difference today with a good PC or Mac soundcard, but possibly.
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Old 02-06-2020, 07:42 AM
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Thanks Doug and Rick. That’s exactly what I was getting at, and confirmed what I was thinking. I certainly can notice a significant difference with bit depth and more so with sampling rates. As for DAs, not so much. I used to run through a “prosumer” DA (apogee one), but with my current MacBook Pro, plugging in to its audio jack seems just as good and much less cluttered. Thanks again!
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