DAC source. Does it matter?

[afinepoint]

I didn't see this exact post and am not sure if it fits here.

Does the digital source of the feed to a DAC matter? I would think digital is digital but for streaming I have different options from my service from least accurate through Lossless which uses the most data but is the most accurate. But is that just for the cell phone 's DAC?

How careful do you need to be upstream of the DAC? Or is this a non concern and any digital source is fine?

 

[HarmonicTHD]

I didn't see this exact post and am not sure if it fits here.

Does the digital source of the feed to a DAC matter? I would think digital is digital but for streaming I have different options from my service from least accurate through Lossless which uses the most data but is the most accurate. But is that just for the cell phone 's DAC?

How careful do you need to be upstream of the DAC? Or is this a non concern and any digital source is fine?

Been discussed and measured many times. Rough summary (although audiophools claim otherwise): as long as it is equal or better than 16/44, it is good. Modern streamer also all do pretty much equally well (as good measuring DACs are agnostic to jitter in the signal - simply speaking). So an RPi with standard power supply or a phone or a PC will do. USB or coax or optical also all good (yes optical can prevent mains hum, if you happen to have such a problem but I never had).

 

[DVDdoug]

It CAN make a difference but often it doesn't make an audible difference.

For example, MP3 is lossy compression. Data is thrown-away to make a smaller file. A good quality (high bitrate*) MP3 is about 1/5th the size of a "CD quality" WAV or FLAC file. (FLAC, which is lossless compression is typically about half the uncompressed size.) It tries to throw-away information/details you can't hear anyway but it's not always "perfect"... It depends on the type & quality of compression, the program material, and your ability to hear compression artifacts.

With low-quality (low bitrate = more-highly compressed) MP3s, they start to sound something like a bad cell phone connection... Like the early cell phones...

The streaming services don't use MP3 but they mostly use some kind of lossy compression.

Most of us can't hear the difference between a high-resolution original and a copy downwampled to CD quality (in a proper, blind, scientific ABX Test). Some people may hear a difference with some program material. I believe Amir's philosophy is "why not" go with high resolution.

...I've got an iPod classic full of MP3s hooked-up to my car stereo. I don't do careful ABX tests but every time I've thought I'm hearing a compression artifact, it's turned-out that the original CD has the same "defect".


* Bitrate is file size in kilobits per second, so it's an indication of the amount of compression and the quality. There are 8 bits in a byte so you can divide by 8 to get kilobytes per second. We usually don't talk about the bitrate for uncompressed files but CD audio is 16-bits x 44.1kHz x 2 channels = 1411kbps, or about 10MB per minute.

 

[afinepoint]

Thanks for the thoughts. Sorry THD I'll do a better search next time.