30-May-2014, 19:01
Ethernet for me. I tried USB again over this week with two different cables - a standard 1m cable from Maplin and an Audioquest forest version, preferring the Audioquest.
But...
To me, Ethernet still sounds better. The USB connection initially sounded more detailed but after a few days of listening and comparing, it also introduces a slight 'greyness' to the sound. A very good test for this is the 192 version of 'Meet me in London' by Antonio Forcione & Sabina Sciubba on the Naim label. The track 'Take Five' is mixed with the the vocal and guitar at the left and right extremes and when i initially bought the hi-def version of the album (and pre Devialet) this sounded very false and unnatural - almost sounding dual mono. With the Devialet (and via Ethernet) the acoustic is revealed and the production makes complete sense. Via USB, the sense of acoustic is diminished and the 'mono' effect returns. Coming from a Naim background, i'm more inclined to the PR&T approach but the extremely low background noise of the Devialet has revealed some previously missed acoustic cues on some favourite albums.
On other albums, such as Natalie Merchants latest, her voice suffers a degree of harshness via USB which is missing with Ethernet.
I've tried various players - Bit Perfect, Amarra and Audirvana and the effect is the same. I suspect i'd get better results with one of the IFI USB isolators as i suspect the effects i'm hearing are due to noise coupling into the amplifier from the computer but that's an extra couple of boxes and more cables. Add the fact that the AIR app works so well on my headless mini (no issues with it connecting with the latest firmware update) and handles gapless playback, Ethernet is a no brainer for me at present.
James
But...
To me, Ethernet still sounds better. The USB connection initially sounded more detailed but after a few days of listening and comparing, it also introduces a slight 'greyness' to the sound. A very good test for this is the 192 version of 'Meet me in London' by Antonio Forcione & Sabina Sciubba on the Naim label. The track 'Take Five' is mixed with the the vocal and guitar at the left and right extremes and when i initially bought the hi-def version of the album (and pre Devialet) this sounded very false and unnatural - almost sounding dual mono. With the Devialet (and via Ethernet) the acoustic is revealed and the production makes complete sense. Via USB, the sense of acoustic is diminished and the 'mono' effect returns. Coming from a Naim background, i'm more inclined to the PR&T approach but the extremely low background noise of the Devialet has revealed some previously missed acoustic cues on some favourite albums.
On other albums, such as Natalie Merchants latest, her voice suffers a degree of harshness via USB which is missing with Ethernet.
I've tried various players - Bit Perfect, Amarra and Audirvana and the effect is the same. I suspect i'd get better results with one of the IFI USB isolators as i suspect the effects i'm hearing are due to noise coupling into the amplifier from the computer but that's an extra couple of boxes and more cables. Add the fact that the AIR app works so well on my headless mini (no issues with it connecting with the latest firmware update) and handles gapless playback, Ethernet is a no brainer for me at present.
James
Melco N1A > Meicord Opal > Devialet 220 Pro > Mogami 2972 > Shahinian Compass
