Just curious how many of you listen via analog, or do you use toslink/HDMI. Also, anyone here use an external DAC?

Straight digital until it hits the DAC built into the receiver. I can't stand the noise introduced by physical pick-up on analog sources. So, since I'm starting digital, I want to keep it that way as long as possible. All my sources connect by HDMI now.

I just had a card reader implanted in my skull and now I just kind of ride the waves of 1's and 0's. It doesn't mean anything and elicits no emotional response, but the fidelity is amazing.

I use multi-channel analog through my Panasonic Blu-ray player, everything else optical/toslink and coax.

I partially listen in analog. I use a Mac Mini as a music server connected via toslink to a Musical Fidelity V-DAC (external DAC), connected to the receiver via RCA's. So it's digital-digital-analog.

I forgot to my mention my dedicated headphone setup uses strictly analog cables.

Vinyl is analog, everything else is digital. Not sure if it was imagination or not, but it seemed that CD playback (from an inexpensive 200-disk changer) sounded just the tiniest bit better via digital coax even after matching SPL.

The digital path seemed to play 1-2 dB louder than analog, so it's possible that my perception was skewed by the initially louder digital playback. My friends and family have a very limited store of patience for helping with blind testing, and I have an equally limited store of free time.

::checks ears::

Yup, still listening in analog.

Erik, the strict answer to your question would be that everyone listens in analog, since that's how speakers and our ears work. You're speaking of course in the more limited sense of in what form the signals are traveling over the connecting cables to the receiver. My CDs and DVDs output digitally over coax to be converted by the receiver DACs. No separate DAC is either necessary or helpful.

Well of course my vinyl is analog, my other music listening is with the Oppo BDP-83SE. I use the dedicated 2channel outs for CDs and the Multichannel outputs for 5.1 DVD-A and SACD. I set the NAD T785HD analog inputs to bypass. So I guess most of music I listen too is in the analog world as soon as it leaves the Oppo. That's how I roll.

Tru vynil analog is best tru world audio sound!

Or so I've heard.

You said it, bbigmeds!!

REFLECT!

My only disappointment with the 30th Anniversary bash was that bbigwyres wasn't there. didn't reveal himself there.

Ohhh, I'm not so sure about that

That was bbigwyres hanging a moon at the end of the dock?

I certainly agree a seperate DAC isn't necessary. Helpful? That's in the ears of the listener isn't it? It seems helpful in my system.

External DAC's are very useful in setups that aren't receiver-based. My computer goes straight to my DAC...and boy...I can tell a massive difference between my receiver DAC and my Lite-AH DAC. I can really only tell the difference on headphones, and that's what it used for :-)

In most cases, I'd say you're wasting your money on an external DAC unless you have some outlandish amp setup, and don't want to use a high end surround receiver.

Additionally, if you think a high quality DAC makes a difference, don't pay for upgrades in your source component, and then have to run analog cables. Get a receiver with specs you want, and make digital connections to it, so all sources benefit.

The only digital link in my system is from my Roku Soundbridge to my Meitner D/A. Well, I guess you should count the WiFi link from my music server to the Roku as digital too.