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What’s your preferred connection?
#1
Toslink (aka optical), coaxial or AES/EBU 

when connecting devices to your Devialet, what is your preferred connection and do you find one better than the other? Assuming you have a device than can output via all three.

And would it change depending on the device you are connecting (cd player, network streamer, turntable, etc)? Or If you were connecting all 3 would one device benefit more than the others with a certain connection type?
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#2
No simple answer.

For a start, since you asked about connecting 3 different devices, you can't connect 3 devices in the same way since there are only 2 tousling inputs and 2 coax inputs and 1 AES/EBU input so you're going to have to use at least 2 different sorts of input to connect 3 devices.

Second, not all devices you connect have all of those outputs. Your choices for a particular device are limited by what the output choices on the device are unless you want to use an adapter of some kind between the device output and the Devialet input. I don't like using adapters but YMMV.

Third, not all connection types work for all input signal types. For example you can't send DSD over coax or optical as far as I know so if you're playing an SACD on a disc player and you want to send the signal in digital format to the Devialet you've got a problem because digital output from an SACD requires HDMI in most cases.

Since you're asking which one is best I'll start by saying one that works is the best and not every one of the 3 inputs you named will work for every source and data type.

So, assuming you've got a choice of inputs which work, which one is best? Well, each input requires a different sort of cable and cables make a difference in my experience so if you've got a couple of options and a cable that will work with each input, try them and see which one you prefer because there can be differences in sound quality from different inputs depending on the cables used and the quality of the different outputs on the same device, and different people prefer different sorts of sound so what you prefer may not be the same as what someone else prefers.

Basically, the answer is to try the different options you have for a given device and see which one you prefer. It doesn't matter which one I or someone else prefers, you don't want to satisfy me or someone else. You want to satisfy yourself. Since not all inputs are equal for a variety of reasons including differences in different source devices, not all inputs are applicable to every source device, and since your own personal taste play a part you really have no option but to try the options which work for yourself.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#3
Thanks David for your thoughtful reply. The reason I ask is because basically I’m going to have to buy everything I want send through the d200

CD (nice to have as I have some cds I listen to from time to time)
I may be able to “share” my oppo 203 with my home theater /Marantz by utilizing one of the digital outs since I am using hdmi to the HT. But I’m not even sure the oppo can handle two different audio outs, if not, I will need to invest in a separate cd transport of some kind.

Music streaming (most important)
Since the d200 does not appear to have airplay direct streaming support for Apple Music, I will need some sort of device to stream my Apple music subscription. I have briefly looked at the Lumin u1 mini or the Auralic Aries G1. Both of these have all 3 of the connection outputs I mentioned. I have also looked at the Cambridge Audio CXN and Azur 851N network streamers as a cheaper option. I think the more expensive 851n has the aes/ebu out like the Auralic and Lumin, but the cheaper cxn only has Toslink and coax out. All of the streamers mentioned seem to support airplay, TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz. Etc.

Vinyl (least priority)
I currently have no LP’s but intend to get a decent TT (VPI Scout, clear audio concept, or something decent in the 2k range)

So I realize I can’t connect 3 devices via AES/ebu, but I was trying to get opinions on if I did add all 3 of the devices mentioned, would one benefit more than the others for one type of connection over the other 2.

Thanks again for any feedback.
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#4
I stream from an Antipodes server using Roon. All of my discs are now ripped to the server and I use Roon to connect and stream from Tidal. My CD/SACD player is no longer part of the system, the server does everything, and the only input I use on my 140 is ethernet. I could also use USB and I think most of the streamers you mention should offer at least a USB output if not ethernet network output as well.

My guess is that you will probably find USB or ethernet provides a better result than any of the 3 inputs you mentioned for streaming output so I would be looking at one of those choices where possible. I'd also tend towards AES/EBU over Toslink/coax in theory if you have a device with AES/EBU output. For a turntable you're probably better using one of the Devialet's analog inputs configured as a phono input.

I can recommend the server route. I found I got better sound streaming files ripped from my CDs over the network than playing the discs themselves and using coax to pass the digital output from either an Arcam CD37 or Oppo 105 to my 140 over coax. It took a couple of months to rip my whole CD collection to the server but I simply ripped discs while listening to music from my disc player (my Antipodes has a disc drive for ripping). Once that task was done I simply retired the disc player. Once you have everything you want on a server it's a simple matter to rip new discs before playing them or buying new music as downloads.

If you're going to have to buy everything you want to send through the 200, think hard about how you want your system to work. Especially when it comes to streaming, whether that be from discs ripped to a hard drive or from some streaming service, you also have USB and ethernet as input options which are worth considering. I think you can add an internal drive to the Auralic Aries G1, I know I added an internal SSD to the Aries Mini I used a couple of years ago before getting a Devialet. What I can say is that if you had asked me 2 years ago what my system would be today, I would have said it would include a disc player and that it probably wouldn't include input from a hard drive. That all changed when I got a Devialet 20 months ago and found myself with a pile of options that I didn't have with the NAD M3 integrated amp I was previously using. Once I tried a free trial with Roon and streaming Tidal a couple of months later, the writing was on the wall for a disc player in my system and less than 3 months later it was gone. When it comes to considering what types of input connection I would be using, 2 years ago I would have said analog inputs and perhaps a coax or USB input for some digital input. Today the only input I'm using is ethernet. Everything changed, and changed quite rapidly. That's why I say that if you're going to have to buy everything you want to send through your 200, start thinking about just how you want your system to be working in a year or two's time because there are other input options than the 3 you mentioned and you're likely to find that the way you access music can easily change once you start streaming though a Devialet if you use ethernet or USB inputs.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#5
(11-Dec-2018, 06:00)mmorrison55 Wrote: Thanks David for your thoughtful reply. The reason I ask is because basically I’m going to have to buy everything I want send through the d200

CD (nice to have as I have some cds I listen to from time to time)
I may be able to “share” my oppo 203 with my home theater /Marantz by utilizing one of the digital outs since I am using hdmi to the HT. But I’m not even sure the oppo can handle two different audio outs, if not, I will need to invest in a separate cd transport of some kind.

Music streaming (most important)
Since the d200 does not appear to have airplay direct streaming support for Apple Music, I will need some sort of device to stream my Apple music subscription. I have briefly looked at the Lumin u1 mini or the Auralic Aries G1. Both of these have all 3 of the connection outputs I mentioned. I have also looked at the Cambridge Audio CXN and Azur 851N network streamers as a cheaper option. I think the more expensive 851n has the aes/ebu out like the Auralic and Lumin, but the cheaper cxn only has Toslink and coax out. All of the streamers mentioned seem to support airplay, TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz. Etc.

Vinyl (least priority)
I currently have no LP’s but intend to get a decent TT (VPI Scout, clear audio concept, or something decent in the 2k range)

So I realize I can’t connect 3 devices via AES/ebu, but I was trying to get opinions on if I did add all 3 of the devices mentioned, would one benefit more than the others for one type of connection over the other 2.

Thanks again for any feedback.
You can use multiple outputs from the Oppo. I have mine connected by HDMI to my TV, and by RCA to my Devialet for CD and SACD duties.
Project Eperience X Pack with Ortofon Rondo Red MC, Oppo BDP 105D, 2 x Sonos Connect, QNAP HS251+ NAS with 2 X 6TB Western Digital Red, Mac 5K 32GB running Lifetime Roon, iPad Pro 12.9" for remote control.  Etalon Ethernet Isolator, Devialet 440 Pro CI, Sonus faber Olympica ll with Isoacoustics Gaia ll feet, Auralic Taurus Mkll headphone amp.Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 with Cardas cable,  Van Den Hul The First Ultimate and Crystal interconnects, Furutech power cables, GSP Audio Spatia speaker cable.
South Coast England
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#6
(11-Dec-2018, 10:26)Axel Wrote:
(11-Dec-2018, 06:00)mmorrison55 Wrote: Thanks David for your thoughtful reply. The reason I ask is because basically I’m going to have to buy everything I want send through the d200

CD (nice to have as I have some cds I listen to from time to time)
I may be able to “share” my oppo 203 with my home theater /Marantz by utilizing one of the digital outs since I am using hdmi to the HT. But I’m not even sure the oppo can handle two different audio outs, if not, I will need to invest in a separate cd transport of some kind.

Music streaming (most important)
Since the d200 does not appear to have airplay direct streaming support for Apple Music, I will need some sort of device to stream my Apple music subscription. I have briefly looked at the Lumin u1 mini or the Auralic Aries G1. Both of these have all 3 of the connection outputs I mentioned. I have also looked at the Cambridge Audio CXN and Azur 851N network streamers as a cheaper option. I think the more expensive 851n has the aes/ebu out like the Auralic and Lumin, but the cheaper cxn only has Toslink and coax out. All of the streamers mentioned seem to support airplay, TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz. Etc.

Vinyl (least priority)
I currently have no LP’s but intend to get a decent TT (VPI Scout, clear audio concept, or something decent in the 2k range)

So I realize I can’t connect 3 devices via AES/ebu, but I was trying to get opinions on if I did add all 3 of the devices mentioned, would one benefit more than the others for one type of connection over the other 2.

Thanks again for any feedback.
You can use multiple outputs from the Oppo. I have mine connected by HDMI to my TV, and by RCA to my Devialet for CD and SACD duties.

Thanks Axel,

So no need to go into the menu and make a setting change each time you want to listen to HT or 2 channel?

To that end, if there was any specific setting you recall having to change, please advise.

Sounds like this will at least resolve my disc dilemma. 

Now to figure out the streaming...

Thanks,

Mike
Reply
#7
(11-Dec-2018, 08:33)David A Wrote: I stream from an Antipodes server using Roon. All of my discs are now ripped to the server and I use Roon to connect and stream from Tidal. My CD/SACD player is no longer part of the system, the server does everything, and the only input I use on my 140 is ethernet. I could also use USB and I think most of the streamers you mention should offer at least a USB output if not ethernet network output as well.

My guess is that you will probably find USB or ethernet provides a better result than any of the 3 inputs you mentioned for streaming output so I would be looking at one of those choices where possible. I'd also tend towards AES/EBU over Toslink/coax in theory if you have a device with AES/EBU output. For a turntable you're probably better using one of the Devialet's analog inputs configured as a phono input.

I can recommend the server route. I found I got better sound streaming files ripped from my CDs over the network than playing the discs themselves and using coax to pass the digital output from either an Arcam CD37 or Oppo 105 to my 140 over coax. It took a couple of months to rip my whole CD collection to the server but I simply ripped discs while listening to music from my disc player (my Antipodes has a disc drive for ripping). Once that task was done I simply retired the disc player. Once you have everything you want on a server it's a simple matter to rip new discs before playing them or buying new music as downloads.

If you're going to have to buy everything you want to send through the 200, think hard about how you want your system to work. Especially when it comes to streaming, whether that be from discs ripped to a hard drive or from some streaming service, you also have USB and ethernet as input options which are worth considering. I think you can add an internal drive to the Auralic Aries G1, I know I added an internal SSD to the Aries Mini I used a couple of years ago before getting a Devialet. What I can say is that if you had asked me 2 years ago what my system would be today, I would have said it would include a disc player and that it probably wouldn't include input from a hard drive. That all changed when I got a Devialet 20 months ago and  found myself with a pile of options that I didn't have with the NAD M3 integrated amp I was previously using. Once I tried a free trial with Roon and streaming Tidal a couple of months later, the writing was on the wall for a disc player in my system and less than 3 months later it was gone. When it comes to considering what types of input connection I would be using, 2 years ago I would have said analog inputs and perhaps a coax or USB input for some digital input. Today the only input I'm using is ethernet. Everything changed, and changed quite rapidly. That's why I say that if you're going to have to buy everything you want to send through your 200, start thinking about just how you want your system to be working in a year or two's time because there are other input options than the 3 you mentioned and you're likely to find that the way you access music can easily change once you start streaming though a Devialet if you use ethernet or USB inputs.

Thanks again for another detailed reply. It’s much appreciated! I do like the idea of the server and ripping discs. And since it seems for the time being I can use my oppo for double duty (based on Axels reply), I can do a bit more research as to what will best suites my needs. The antipodes looks like a nice solution but unfortunately a bit out of my range at the moment. The Auralic Aries g1, I will have to look into internal HD. I know you can attach external HD via usb and use their “lightning” or some process as they they call it to manage and play your collection and stream via one app interface. John Darko has a nice review On the Auralic Aries g1

 95% would be streaming, so anything that can airplay my Applemusic subscription is my 1st choice. I’m not against going to tidal or similar hi res streaming service, so whatever streamer, server I go with will hopefully support many formats.

Thanks again,

Mike
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#8
(11-Dec-2018, 17:56)mmorrison55 Wrote:
(11-Dec-2018, 10:26)Axel Wrote:
(11-Dec-2018, 06:00)mmorrison55 Wrote: Thanks David for your thoughtful reply. The reason I ask is because basically I’m going to have to buy everything I want send through the d200

CD (nice to have as I have some cds I listen to from time to time)
I may be able to “share” my oppo 203 with my home theater /Marantz by utilizing one of the digital outs since I am using hdmi to the HT. But I’m not even sure the oppo can handle two different audio outs, if not, I will need to invest in a separate cd transport of some kind.

Music streaming (most important)
Since the d200 does not appear to have airplay direct streaming support for Apple Music, I will need some sort of device to stream my Apple music subscription. I have briefly looked at the Lumin u1 mini or the Auralic Aries G1. Both of these have all 3 of the connection outputs I mentioned. I have also looked at the Cambridge Audio CXN and Azur 851N network streamers as a cheaper option. I think the more expensive 851n has the aes/ebu out like the Auralic and Lumin, but the cheaper cxn only has Toslink and coax out. All of the streamers mentioned seem to support airplay, TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz. Etc.

Vinyl (least priority)
I currently have no LP’s but intend to get a decent TT (VPI Scout, clear audio concept, or something decent in the 2k range)

So I realize I can’t connect 3 devices via AES/ebu, but I was trying to get opinions on if I did add all 3 of the devices mentioned, would one benefit more than the others for one type of connection over the other 2.

Thanks again for any feedback.
You can use multiple outputs from the Oppo. I have mine connected by HDMI to my TV, and by RCA to my Devialet for CD and SACD duties.

Thanks Axel,

So no need to go into the menu and make a setting change each time you want to listen to HT or 2 channel?

To that end, if there was any specific setting you recall having to change, please advise.

Sounds like this will at least resolve my disc dilemma. 

Now to figure out the streaming...

Thanks,

Mike

All of the Oppo's outputs are always active so you don't have to make any changes to menu settings when you  want to use a different output. If, for example, you had the stereo analog outputs connected to an analog input of your Devialet as I did for SACD playback (you can only get digital DSD output from an SACD over HDMI) and the coax digital output also connected to my Devialet for CD playback, all you have to do to switch from one to the other is to switch inputs on the Devialet. No need to change anything on the Oppo each time you swap.

There is a restriction with SACD because of Sony's licensing arrangements. The only way to get an SACD player to output high res digital output from the high res DSD layer on an SACD is over HDMI and the Devialet doesn't have an HDMI input. You can get the 16 bit/44.1 kHz output from the CD layer of the disc over the Toslink or Coax digital outputs but if you want to play the DSD layer of an SACD your only choice is to use analog output from the Oppo. That will sound quite good, I did it for a while, but it doesn't sound quite as good as the sound you get playing ripped DSD data from the disc from a hard drive.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.

Brisbane, Qld, Australia
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#9
Great information! I think I will go with the two out process from my oppo to Devialet as you have described.

At least until I research ripping and get all my cds sorted.
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#10
@mmorrison55 

How many CDs do you have?
If it doesn’t take long to rip I would also recommend going for digital route with a music server.
 
Have a look at Small Green Computer and Innuos, they have great music server (for Roon core) plus CD Ripper built-in.
As in my case, I use a SonicTransporter i5 as my music server and I use my iMac to rip CD to the NAS.
 
I also have a Clearaudio Concept turntable and it’s connected to the Devialet via RCA input.
 
I don’t think you will need a Lumin U1 or Auralic Aries as you can stream Apple Music from mobile devices using Airplay (via AppleTV).
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