Mac AIR v MiND 180 v Auralic ARIES v totaldac d1 server

[Jwg1749]

Where I differ a bit with "Confused" is his conclusion that the Totaldac clocking ability is superior to AIR. Surely it is just audibly different to two individuals' sets of ears in a way which pleases them!

Actually I would have to stick with a conclusion that the Totaldac may have superior clocking ability. The fact is I have never listened to a Totaldac D1, and hearing is believing for me. However, looking a some of Guillaume's and Rufus' previous posts, it is clear that they think that they are hearing a most definate improvement, i.e. they sound like they are a little beyond the subjective range. As I mentioned, I would need to hear one myself before stating anything more than a tentative "may have".

Please excuse me if I go into pedantic mode for a while. (Maybe that should be a given )

Guillaume and Rufus clearly agree that the Totaldac d1 server sounds better than AIR, and I certainly don't doubt their judgement. But in the absence of measurement that is by definition a subjective judgement. That being the case I don't think one can or should conclude from their comparison that the Totaldac is providing technical (objectively measurable) improvements over AIR, for example in the area of clocking. It may or may not be measurably different but the subjective improvement in sound quality does not necessarily means it's technically better than AIR - "lower jitter", "more bit perfect", however you might interpret those terms.

I think this is right. One thing is absolutely clear: the jury is still out.

Has anyone tried recording the various inputs (Totaldac via AES/EBU, or AIR) using the Devialet's USB out? You could then null the resulting files using Audiodiffmaker, which would provide an objective measure.