It all boils down to your view of the digital side of audio and your physical ability to hear the differences. In theory, if the data is transmitted to the DAC bitperfect then the results should be identical.
In the case of my Apple TV, the data gets converted to 48kHz which is the TV standard so I know that in theory it is inferior compared to even an Airport Express that converts to 44.1 kHz, but I still cannot hear a difference in my system. I am sure that it may be possible to hear the difference in some systems.
In the case of my Apple TV, the data gets converted to 48kHz which is the TV standard so I know that in theory it is inferior compared to even an Airport Express that converts to 44.1 kHz, but I still cannot hear a difference in my system. I am sure that it may be possible to hear the difference in some systems.