DAC3 or Topping D30 questions and compatible with Airport Express?

[Steve Cuss]

Can you recall where you ran into the material you "keep reading" on the AEX jitter problem? My skeptical nature suggests user complaints and vendor defenses thereof involving somewhat esoteric equipment rather than more mainstream gear. If AEX feeds any Rotel, Denon, Pioneer, Sony, or Marantz AVR or pre-pro with nary a blip, how can the Peachtrees, Arcams, or Grant Fidelitys?) of the industry justify their complaints that the problem is with the AirPort rather than their specific implementations of the receiving, clocking, decoding, and/or DAC circuitry in their units? I would really appreciate a reference if you can recall one. Thanks.

Sure thing! Here are a few threads:

https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile...jitterdropout_with_apple_express_to_dac_help/

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...-toslink-out-to-external-dac-skipping.689285/

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6668589

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4202651

 

[awillia6]

Here are a few threads:

Thanks a ton, Steve. I see from the threads that the AEX involved is the new A1392 (shaped like older ATV but white instead of black). I have several of the older wall-wart versions A1264 as well as a few 3rd gen Rev A. 1080p ATVs A1469. Looks like Apple screwed the pooch with the new AEX. I'll have to get into the issue so I know what to do just in case I come across one of the "new" ones in my travels and need to bolt it up to a standalone DAC (which also seems to be a common denominator with the problem). Oh, one other thing. I NEVER use WiFi with either the AEX or ATV units; just like my routers, switches, and all other network devices, I go hardwired gigabit Ethernet ONLY. I only use WiFi for connection of laptops, iPads, iPhones/Androids, and other "non-essentials." The serious stuff, like my music serving, gets copper, not ether.

I suggest you chuck the newfangled AEX pronto for a nice A1264 (wall-wart, but you can always hook up a long power cord to it for better placement options). You need to remove problems and not let them compromise your setup. Last few AEX units I bought were pristine at around $15 a pop on the bay. Good luck and thanks again for the links.

 

[Steve Cuss]

Thanks a ton, Steve. I see from the threads that the AEX involved is the new A1392 (shaped like older ATV but white instead of black). I have several of the older wall-wart versions A1264 as well as a few 3rd gen Rev A. 1080p ATVs A1469. Looks like Apple screwed the pooch with the new AEX. I'll have to get into the issue so I know what to do just in case I come across one of the "new" ones in my travels and need to bolt it up to a standalone DAC (which also seems to be a common denominator with the problem). Oh, one other thing. I NEVER use WiFi with either the AEX or ATV units; just like my routers, switches, and all other network devices, I go hardwired gigabit Ethernet ONLY. I only use WiFi for connection of laptops, iPads, iPhones/Androids, and other "non-essentials." The serious stuff, like my music serving, gets copper, not ether.

I suggest you chuck the newfangled AEX pronto for a nice A1264 (wall-wart, but you can always hook up a long power cord to it for better placement options). You need to remove problems and not let them compromise your setup. Last few AEX units I bought were pristine at around $15 a pop on the bay. Good luck and thanks again for the links.

You bet! The sensible solution is for me to keep the ATV into Peachtree as my primary music streaming source, but just as an FYI, I have the newer white ATV sized Airport and I also have the old 'plug in the wall' style and they both don't play nice with the Peacthree. Wierd indeed. One day I may try the Topping D50 but I'll probably keep it simple and keep the ATV solution.

Cheers.

 

[divergentcrl]

So after reading Ken Rockwell's analysis (again), I now have two Airport Express A1392 units running. So far, so good. Sounds great.

What bothers me is I keep seeing comments that this Airport Express suffers from jitter problems. I have read the various threads listed on the subject but I haven't yet seen any technical data that shows jitter problems, only anecdotal. If and when I decide to get a stand alone DAC, should I be concerned?

I can't spot any flaws in Ken's analysis. His methods seem solid and Rohde equipment enjoys wide spread respect. So, I will accept his results until someone can show otherwise. Perhaps there are other issues.

Jitter analysis is complex. Is random jitter or deterministic jitter causing trouble? Or is total jitter the only number that matters? What does the TIE plot look like?

Wikipedia, if you can trust it, has an informative article on S/PDIF. embedded.com has an interesting paper on jitter decomposition for those who are interested.

Meanwhile, I suppose I will enjoy listening to music through my Airport Express in ignorance. If I ever have DAC troubles then I will mix it up in the lab.

 

[gvl]

If you go stand-alone DAC get one that uses an ESS DAC chip, as long as it can lock onto the AE output it will clean up the jitter, if any, on SPDIF inputs. Is it audible to begin with is a separate question.