Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Which one gets the digital.

Hi folks,
I'm going to have to swap back and forth to see for myself if I can even hear a difference but I haven't asked a question in a while so I seem strangely compelled to get one in.

In my living room setup, 80% of the time, I am using a Squeezebox to play .flac files from my PC. I'm using my older JVC receiver to drive M60s and an old beater sub left over from my HT room upgrades. I have an older Toshiba DVD player that I'm using for CDs I haven't ripped to flac yet.

I currently have the DVD Player hooked up via the single optical, just cause thats the way it was before I got the Squeezebox. The SqB is hooked up via analogue.

Considering I use the SqB way more than the player, does it make sense to change it to be the optical connection? Sounds like a no brainer at first but does it actually mean I'd just be using the receivers DAC instead of the SqB's DAC. I don't want to start another DAC thread but I hear the SqB actually has a pretty good DAC so would I actually gain anything? Is there anything to gain by keeping the conversion closer to the speakers or would the receivers amplification of the already analog signals be 'passive' for lack of a proper term.

Funniest thing is that I even have such questions in my head now. I'd be concerned about the effect this forum has on my mental health except that it's too fun to be bad for you.

The only way to truly tell if just to listen and see which dac you prefer. If I had to choose without even bothering to listen I would choose the Squeezebox.

Ya I kinda knew the real answer was listen to it both ways. I'm doubtful my ears will know the difference but I figured there were some opinions or technical details from somebody one way or the other, even if it was more subjective than technical. heh heh.

As good as the SB3 is, I actually prefer the DAC in my Outlaw 990. I have mine hooked up via Coax and Analog and when I switch back and forth from one to the other I find a rather large difference. The SB isn't bad, but the Outlaw is better. However, as you've noted only your ears can tell!

Thanks repliers...

Also, I believe I found a technical explanation to one of my questions. Specifically, if I use the SqB DAC, is the receiver 'passive' in it's passing of the adio signal. The answer is, most often not and a change in audio can occur. Below is cut and pasted from the Squeezebox FAQ

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Since you have this choice with a Squeezebox, you would think that using analog, you're using the Squeezebox DAC, and using digital, you're using the receiver's DAC. This is not usually the case.

The heart of an A/V receiver is the DSP, digital signal processor. It is used for tone control, speaker level balance, bass management and DSP effects like "Jazz", "Hall", even "Stereo" and decoders like Dolby Pro-Logic II and DTS:Neo 6. It can only work with digital streams, so any analog streams must be converted to digital using the receiver's ADC, analog-to-digital converter. After the DSP, the signal is then sent to the DAC like any other digital signal.

This extra conversion step will alter the sound. It can make it warmer (reduce treble) but may make it so warm as to be muffled in comparison to a digital signal which is sent directly to the DSP.

However, since many receivers are too bright (have too much treble) anyway, this effect may be more pleasing to you, so it's best to experiment and see what you like best.

Most receivers have a "direct" or "bypass" mode which is supposed to send the signal on to the amplifiers unaltered. However you will lose things you may want like bass management, speaker balance and of course any surround processing.
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Still requires a listening test in the end but I thought I would share what I found.

Andrew