If the output is digital does the player make any difference to the so Options

[db579]

I'm wondering whether if you had two media playing pieces of hardware outputting digital music would the quality of the device make any difference? For example say you had a cheap-to-mid range android phone or mp3 player playing a flac file and outputting over HDMI to a receiver, and a higher spec digital media player like say the Olive 06HD playing the same flac file output over HDMI to a receiver would you hear/should there theoretically even be any difference in audio quality?

Thanks

[xnor]

As I said, isochronous (adaptive) transfer can work perfectly fine.

[Arnold B. Kruege...]

As I said, isochronous (adaptive) transfer can work perfectly fine.

I would like to see a real-world reliable test that shows it working any way but fine.

All we seem to have is these anecdotes.

[xnor]

All we seem to have is these anecdotes.

So you think a lot of people, including me (on my old notebook anyway), imagine audio glitches like VERY ANNOYING clicks or drop-outs with USB DACs? Screenshots of DPC latency measurements that clearly show that the hardware isn't able to stream audio glitch-free are anecdotes too?

Just because you haven't seen it yourself doesn't mean it's not real.

This post has been edited by xnor: Aug 2 2012, 21:25

[saratoga]

All we seem to have is these anecdotes.

So you think a lot of people, including me (on my old notebook anyway), imagine audio glitches like VERY ANNOYING clicks or drop-outs with USB DACs?

That does not follow. I don't think anyone here doubts that audio drop outs can happen with buggy hardware. I've certainly seen data corruption from USB drivers for instance. Doesn't mean I think the MSC spec is broken.

Thats the problem with anecdotal reports about glitches. You don't know what caused it. Driver bug? Chipset errata? Problem with the USB spec? What conclusion can you safely draw when you don't know what happened?

[xnor]

What conclusion can you safely draw when you don't know what happened?

If a user that reported the problem reduces the DPC latency and the problems disappear then I draw the conclusion that most likely a too high DPC latency was the problem. Unfortunately, not all users can fix their hardware configuration / drivers so they end up returning the device and replacing it with an S/PDIF or Firewire or PCIe or async. USB interface which seem to make less problems. HDMI, as I said, I don't know.

On my old laptop, for example, disabling WLAN reduces the DPC latency considerably and gets rid of nasty spikes that caused drop-outs. Still not convinced?

This post has been edited by xnor: Aug 2 2012, 21:39

[saratoga]

On my old laptop, for example, disabling WLAN reduces the DPC latency considerably and gets rid of nasty spikes that caused drop-outs. Still not convinced?

I'm absolutely convinced that you have broken hardware. Beyond that, what else am I supposed to take away from the anecdote?

[xnor]

I'm absolutely convinced that you have broken hardware. Beyond that, what else am I supposed to take away from the anecdote?

Well that's just (being) stupid but I'm okay with that.

This post has been edited by xnor: Aug 2 2012, 21:59

[saratoga]

I'm absolutely convinced that you have broken hardware. Beyond that, what else am I supposed to take away from the anecdote?

Well that's just (being) stupid but I'm okay with that.

What a tactful way to avoid answering the question.

I don't know about the firmware but I agree with the other points you make. I'm not advocating to buy an async interface either. As you've said it's probably cheaper to get a better laptop or PC that will run flawlessly with the interface.

No, its cheaper just figure out what broken device you have that is blocking inside an ISR (!!!) and throw it out a window.

[phofman]

No, its cheaper just figure out what broken device you have that is blocking inside an ISR (!!!) and throw it out a window.

Actually, it would be a crappy driver to be thrown out. The device itself is innocent

[[JAZ]]

Actually, it would be a crappy driver to be thrown out. The device itself is innocent

That is not always the case
Remember the Creative Soundblaster Live! , it had a design that was using the PCI bus in excess and caused problems with some chipsets. ( I've quickly searched for a link about it and found this: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/37211-...opping-crakling . Guess i could find a better source with a better searching)

[xnor]

That is not always the case

Yeah but if you can fix all the glitches by reducing the DPC latency then the sound card is not broken, regardless if somebody is absolutely convinced of that. As absurd as it sounds, DPC latency can be (temporarily) reduced even by just restarting/disabling certain Windows services.

saratoga, you don't know what laptop I have, what sound card I use or anything else yet you're absolutely convinced my hardware is broken. I'm sorry if I offended you but imho it's exactly what I said it is. Same goes for your "throw it out a window" statement.

This post has been edited by xnor: Aug 5 2012, 23:50