Is all s/pdif created equal?

[Pixel Eater]

If s/pdif is simply a digital signal for some other source to handle, are they all identical sounding? Or would a high end card's have way more quality some how?

 

[Kil4Thril]

s/pdif is a protocol, so for it to actually BE s/pdif, they should all be equal. I'm betting this is not true in every case, but unless it was broken, I've never found any differences.

 

[fryea]

I just upgraded from an nvidia Soundstorm (found on the NFII motherboards, amd athlon xp era) to an onboard realtek (ALC1200) which is on the newer ASUS boards.

Using the same SPDIF coax connection to my receiver, there is a HUGE sound difference. The realtek is flat, muddy, and has limited tuning and output options. The soundstorm was powerful, could bring out tons of bass from my tower speakers (no sub) and had plenty of software tuning and output options.

So to answer the question, yes, there is a BIG difference between SPDIF outputs on various sound cards.

 

[phide]

s/pdif is a protocol, so for it to actually BE s/pdif, they should all be equal. I'm betting this is not true in every case, but unless it was broken, I've never found any differences.

The S/PDIF standard is frequently "broken" in many implementations. As an example, some vendors support extended word lengths and sample rates that aren't, and haven't ever been, defined in the S/PDIF standard.

In this way, two S/PDIF outputs can vary in capability -- but necessarily in quality.

So to answer the question, yes, there is a BIG difference between SPDIF outputs on various sound cards.

Sorry, but this is blatantly misleading.

There are differences that can affect what gets to the S/PDIF output, not necessarily differences between two different S/PDIF outputs themselves. If all one means to do is spit out a "raw" digital stream, which is what most people tend to do to perform processing with their pre-amps, two S/PDIF outputs from two different manufacturers will perform, for all intents and purposes, identically. Some may more closely adhere to the standard than others, but any two S/PDIF outputs are effectively identical in terms of audio output quality.

Bottom line: unless there is a meaningful configuration difference in terms of what happens prior to output over S/PDIF, there will be no meaningful difference in terms of audio quality between S/PDIF outputs.

 

[Kil4Thril]

I just upgraded from an nvidia Soundstorm (found on the NFII motherboards, amd athlon xp era) to an onboard realtek (ALC1200) which is on the newer ASUS boards.

Using the same SPDIF coax connection to my receiver, there is a HUGE sound difference. The realtek is flat, muddy, and has limited tuning and output options. The soundstorm was powerful, could bring out tons of bass from my tower speakers (no sub) and had plenty of software tuning and output options.

So to answer the question, yes, there is a BIG difference between SPDIF outputs on various sound cards.

The s/pdif isn't different, but the sonic characteristics it is passing are.

 

[Pixel Eater]

Okay, so after that, I guess rather analog or digital sounds better depends on how good your receiver and or pre-amp is?

 

[Pixel Eater]

bump for answer : /

 

[450]

Okay, so after that, I guess rather analog or digital sounds better depends on how good your receiver and or pre-amp is?

Yes. If the DAC in the receiver is better than the one in the sound card then use digital. However if it is the other way around and the sound card has a superior DAC then use analog.