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Flaws in this chain?

New to streaming and such. Is there a serious weak link in this chain?:

MacBook Pro with Tidal (hi res)------wireless to-----Apple TV-----toslink to-----Schiit Modi 2 Uber-----RCA cable to----Line stage.

I know that the Schiit is no great shakes in terms of a DAC but is there any other serious limitation in the chain? Thanks.

George
n80
djones51
617 posts
 
That's good to feed a low jitter stream but modern DAC's don't use the embedded clocking information from the incoming stream they use removal systems to isolate it from the reconstruction clock in the converter. If you can hear jitter and it bothers you then use whatever you need or want to me I don't hear it so I don't worry about it. 
djones51
617 posts
 
I am no expert by a LONG shot which is why I try to read as much as possible from those who are. I could be wrong and would be the first to admit it but the way I understand it is the digital stream , the 1’s and 0’s, are sent to the DAC that converts to analog, as long as those 1’s and 0’s get there the DAC reconstructs them using it’s clock since the embedded clock information and any jitter that was sent in the stream has been isolated out. If the 1's and 0's don't get there you have a bigger problem than jitter and it's pretty easy to hear if the information does not arrive. 
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
All that I can say is that using the chain I described in the OP above, the SQ is not particularly good...but it is with basic iTunes files....which don't sound too good to me most of the time anyway.

I have not compared a hi-res ripped CD through the ATV vs direct connect to the computer. 

Probably won't bother as I'm finding I can preview stuff okay via the ATV when I'm lazy. If/when I go to hi-res Tidal I will experiment some more.
djones51
617 posts
 
So, Macbook Tidal  > wireless> ATV> DAC> preamp sounds kind of lousy and itunes the same chain sounds better?  My guess is it's tidal but I never used tidal so have no direct knowledge. Can tidal be installed on the ATV ?  I use an integrated amp/dac/streamer so I might not be the best for ideas but it looks like a lot of nodes involved. To me even ripped CD on my  NAS wireless to my integrated  doesn't quite have the SQ as CDP digital to the integrated but it's close, blind I might not be able to tell. So far I have only listened to internet radio over my integrated which isn't bad for casual been waiting on Qobuz to try hi - res streaming. 
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Yes, jitter was the #1 issue which is why I'm glad they have figured it out in well designed modern dacs that have been made in the last 20 years or so.

Some designers have started to figure it out, but not many IME. Most USB interfaces suck because of the high jitter.  Most internal reclockers are poorly implemented and don't do a good job.

 I will admit that the jitter in the average component has improved a lot since the inception of the CD, but most designers still have a LOT to learn.

I recently made improvements to my reclocker that reduced the jitter from 22psec to 7psec.  Did I notice the difference?  Absolutely.  Did my customers notice the difference? Absolutely.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

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