Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Analog or digital?

I have a Harman Kardon FL8380 cd changer, and a Harman Kardon AVR-120. The cd changer has both analog and digital outputs.

Apparently both the cd player and receiver have excellent DACs. I've been using analog, but I realize that my interconnects were very cheap, so until I got better ones, I switched to digital (since I have a good digital cable).

So: How do I know which is better? Will I be able to hear the difference? So fat I'm liking the digital connection better because it sounds "louder" at the same level of volume.

Basically it's just up to what you like the sound of better. The digital out will use your processors DAC's while the analog out will be using your cd player's DAC's.

Why does this post look so familiar to me?

Ummm, you read it more than once?

Ah, an example of Peter's relevant and insightful posts. j/k

Actually, Peter and I did a blind test of analog vs. digital awhile ago, and we couldn't tell the difference. Granted, both sources were not exactly high quality, and it was only single blind, and the changeover wasn't instantaneous, but still...

As I recall, that comparison was between a standard-quality "no-frills" analog stereo interconnect and a regular Monster Toslink cable.

Oh, I don't think it was Toslink. I think it was a regular old coax cable that we had lying around.

Some receivers process audio in the digital domain for balance, level, tone, and special effects if you use them. So if you use the digital input, the signal stays digital until it exits through the receivers DACs. If you use the analog input, the receiver must do an another ADC first. This hurts the fidelity.

Nope. My CD changer doesn't have coax out.

Stop following me