SPDIF or Toslink out? Why?

[SPD_RCR]

On your DAC, are you using SPDIF or Toslink out? Why?

I'm curious if one is "better" and if you've done A/B testing.

Audio only, 2-channel setup

WiiM Ultra > "BlueRigger" toslink > Schiit Modius > WBC Mogami XLR > Buckeye Amps NC252MP

For less than $20 to around $50 = there are plenty of choices to "try" for myself, but I wanted a general consensus on your choice of output connection from the Ultra.

Thanks!

 

[staticV3]

Hi @SPD_RCR! Welcome to ASR.

As far as I'm concerned Coax offers no meaningful advantage over Toslink.

OTOH, Toslink provides galvanic isolation which can meaningfully remove noise in a system.

 

[jeffbook]

One advantage for TOSlink is there no electrical connection between the two components connected by the TOSlink cable. This eliminates any potential for hum caused by ground loops.

 

[solderdude]

SPDIF and TOSLINK have the exact same signal. AES-EBU too but this is a balanced SPDIF connection.
One is in electrical form and the other in optical.
In a DAC the optical is converted to electrical.
In a DAC the SPDIF is just 'reconditioned'.
So both should lead to the exact same result.... but...
The TOSLINK will be galvanically isolated and thus there can not be any groundloops/leakage currents.
The SPDIF often is galvanically separated (impulse transformer in the DAC) but sometimes it is not.

TOSLINK often is limited to 96/24 or 192/24 where SPDIF can reach higher sample rates but is specified up to 192/24.
When you need to go higher I2S or USB 3.0 is the way to go.

In some DAC's the TOSLINK receivers are the bottleneck, also not all optical cables 'conduct' light equally well.

Use whatever is convenient.

 

[tmtomh]

My own personal guidance is if I have both connections available, I use TOSLINK because of the galvanic isolation. If I experience any problems at all (clicks, dropouts, total silence with higher-sample rate material), I switch to coax.

In practice, though, I’ve never once had any issues with either connection method, and the data is identical as others have noted. My current setup requires an AES EBU input so I use coax since it’s SPDIF just like AES EBU and therefore I just need a simple adapter cable and not a converter.

 

[somebodyelse]

The other consideration is to check the measurements when available. While there shouldn't be a performance difference between coax and optical, occasionally we see a problem on one input but not the other.

 

[respice finem]

I'm using USB, Toslink and Coax in my living room setup, because I need them all. In the "real" listening room only USB, and in the bedroom setup USB and Toslink (the latter for the CD player, but it became rather obsolete since I have ripped all CDs to FLAC).

 

[voodooless]

I wanted a general consensus on your choice of output connection from the Ultra.

Skip the DAC altogether. The Ultra is fully transparent already.

Saves you the trouble of worrying about silly cables.

 

[IngMishael]

On your DAC, are you using SPDIF or Toslink out? Why?

I'm curious if one is "better" and if you've done A/B testing.

Audio only, 2-channel setup

WiiM Ultra > "BlueRigger" toslink > Schiit Modius > WBC Mogami XLR > Buckeye Amps NC252MP

For less than $20 to around $50 = there are plenty of choices to "try" for myself, but I wanted a general consensus on your choice of output connection from the Ultra.

Thanks!

Why do you need another DAC for the Wiim Ultra? Skip the unnecessary step of the Modius. Adds nothing

 

[solderdude]

Probably because his amp is XLR in and he already owns the Modius ?
The WiiM does not have balanced out which the Modius 'adds' to the chain.
The Buckeye NC252MP can be used with RCA but requires RCA to XLR cables.

 

[SPD_RCR]

thank you all for your feedback and comments!

 

[jsrtheta]

thank you all for your feedback and comments!

This is a simple thread, but a good one. Great points made in a fair and thoughtful way. Thank you Amir!