23-Jul-2019, 20:20
To be quite frank, the only way you'll find out whether adding a USB to S/P-DIF or AES3 converter makes a difference to the sound quality -- and if so, whether or not that is an improvement to your ears -- is to try it for yourself.
There are some technical arguments as to why a USB audio input might have lower objective performance than AES3; for example, some USB ports on computers can inject quite high levels of 8 kHz noise via power and ground. But on the other hand, the quality of the AES3 input is more dependent on the source (e.g. if you're worried about jitter). Bearing that in mind I can understand why Devialet said that adding a USB-to-whatever converter wouldn't improve sound quality -- they tend to take a fairly no-nonsense, engineering-based perspective on this kind of topic.
There are some technical arguments as to why a USB audio input might have lower objective performance than AES3; for example, some USB ports on computers can inject quite high levels of 8 kHz noise via power and ground. But on the other hand, the quality of the AES3 input is more dependent on the source (e.g. if you're worried about jitter). Bearing that in mind I can understand why Devialet said that adding a USB-to-whatever converter wouldn't improve sound quality -- they tend to take a fairly no-nonsense, engineering-based perspective on this kind of topic.
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
