Tagged: digital audio

USB, coaxial and optical into a DAC: which digital input actually changes the sound, and when the difference is real versus imagined.

Roon, the WiiM app, Lumin, Chromecast built-in — they all claim bit-perfect. I pulled them apart to see which ones actually leave your file alone.

The DAC chip gets all the marketing attention, but the analogue output stage after it does most of the work shaping what you actually hear.

Gapless playback and crossfade settings quietly change your audio signal. Here's what's actually happening to the bits, and which setting to use.

MQA's unwinding wasn't a fluke. It's a lesson in what hi-res audio actually needs from a format, and what was always marketing.

"Bit-perfect" gets thrown around like a spec, but it's a plumbing claim, not a sound quality one. Here's what it actually guarantees.

Running a separate DAC off HDMI eARC in a home theatre involves compromises most installers won't mention. Here's what actually happens to the signal.

Your app says 24-bit/192kHz but your DAC's display says something else. Here's what's actually happening to the signal, and whether it matters.

A $150 DAC and a $2000 DAC often measure almost identically. Here's what the extra money is really buying, and why it's usually not "better sound" in the conversion itself.

Does a reference system reveal more from streaming services, or just their flaws? A statement-system reviewer on what actually changes at the top end.

Upsampling and oversampling get lumped together and spruiked as a feature. Here's what a DAC actually does to your signal, and whether it's worth caring about.

USB, coax and optical into the same DAC can measure and sound different, but not for the reasons forum folklore usually gives. Here's what actually changes.

NAS, local rip or a streaming service subscription — does storage location change what hits your DAC? I pulled the signal path apart to find out.

Jitter, oversampling and digital filters get spruiked hard in DAC marketing. I break down which of these actually change what you hear.

ESS, AKM or a "flagship" chip name tells you almost nothing about how a DAC sounds. Here's what genuinely separates a good one from a dud, on any budget.

A DAC engineer's take on why speaker matching starts upstream — how digital volume, output stage and streamer choice interact with standmounts and floorstanders.

DAC before or after the preamp, streamer or separate box: where the conversion happens in your chain affects noise, volume control and cable runs more than the chip inside it.

Jitter gets blamed for everything from harsh treble to flat soundstages. Here's what clock sources actually do in an AV receiver and where the worry is misplaced.

DSP can fix room-driven bass problems no amount of placement tweaking will solve. Theo Mensah explains what the tools actually do and how to use them without making things worse.

Digital volume attenuation has a bad reputation, but is it deserved? Theo Mensah separates the real maths from the folklore.

The DAC chip is only half the story. What the output stage does to that signal — and how it interacts with your amp — matters just as much.

Jitter, clocking and word-clock inputs: do they matter in a home cinema system, or is it audiophile folklore? Jonno Fraser cuts through the noise.

Hi-res, MQA, lossless, lossy — the format wars are loud and mostly confusing. Here's what actually changes what you hear through headphones.

More digits and higher numbers don't automatically mean better sound. Here's what bit depth and sample rate actually do — and where the real gains stop.

Marcus Vale runs the measurements and the logic on whether a physical Ethernet connection genuinely improves streaming audio quality over Wi-Fi — or if it's mostly folklore.

Spending $150 or $1,500 on a DAC? Dave Okafor breaks down what you actually get for the money — and where the law of diminishing returns kicks in hard.

Do you need an external DAC? Dave Okafor explains when a dedicated converter genuinely improves your sound and when your built-in one is good enough.

Qobuz revenue growth hit 45.7% in 2025, more than five times the 8.8% streaming market rise, and profitability is now targeted by March 2027.

Apple Music lossless gets a reality check from Apple's own VP. Theo Mensah explains what it means for serious Australian listeners and their gear.

The Qobuz AI Charter pairs human-curation pledges with a detection tool that tags fully AI-generated music. Here is what it means for serious listeners.

MQA's successor technologies are finally shipping in real products. Here's a clear-eyed account of what survived the collapse — and what's still missing.

Spotify Lossless has arrived for Premium subscribers at 24-bit/44.1 kHz FLAC, free. Here is what it means for your DAC, your system and your streaming.