By-passing SB Touch DAC?

[output555]

The main reason I bought the SB Touch was to use it as a music server for my Flac and AIFF high-res audio files. However, when I use the S/PDIF digital out from the Touch and feed the signal into my headphone/DAC unit I am underwhelmed by the audio quality. It's far below audiophile standards. Compared to using my FiiO X5 Gen II, the Touch is about half as good in terms of sound quality. So, my question is can I completely by-pass the Touch's DAC and only use it's digital line out, the same as the X5 allows? This would allow me to process a purifier signal through my separate, and much higher quality DAC.

[iPhone]

However, when I use the S/PDIF digital out from the Touch and feed the signal into my headphone/DAC unit I am underwhelmed by the audio quality. It's far below audiophile standards.....
So, my question is can I completely by-pass the Touch's DAC and only use it's digital line out, the same as the X5 allows? This would allow me to process a purifier signal through my separate, and much higher quality DAC.

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This post doesn't make sense, you ARE by-passing the Touch DAC when you use the SB Touch's S/Pdif out or the Optical Out directly to an outboard DAC. Did you mean you were using the analog RCA Right/Left out to your headphone amp?

So if you ARE using either the S/Pdif or Optical Out on the Touch and its doesn't sound as good as the other way you were listening, you have to have a bad cable as the Touch DAC would completely be by-passed and sound quality should be identical as the DAC is receiving the EXACT same digital file from the Server and is dependent on the Outboard DAC which is the same for both setups. So what you should have in either case is the exact same digital file (comes from you server) and the exact same DAC (it's being feed digitally) into the exact same Headphone amp, so it is impossible for them to sound different unless there is a bad interconnect because no matter what device is feeding digital files to the DAC plays no part as the input is the same digital file which remains unaffected while in the digital domain. Make sure you are using an actual 75 ohm Digital S/Pdif cable and not a 50 ohm mono-RCA cable from the Touch out to the DAC's S/Pdif input.

[drmatt]

Indeed.

Though also make sure the touch has not been configured to use bitrate limiting in LMS as your music will be compressed to accommodate, and note that the digital out would only be "bit perfect" if the SBT volume control is set to 100%.

But assuming you are configuring the SBT to just pass unmodified bits then the sound quality is dictated by your offload DAC.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[Mnyb]

Buy a raspi using the Touch as a music server is a dead end it barely works .

Yes OP intends to use Touch as the server to not only as player .

[drmatt]

Yeah, I wouldn't use the SBT as a server myself. Though it does work, if you have plenty of patience.

[Julf]

The main reason I bought the SB Touch was to use it as a music server for my Flac and AIFF high-res audio files.

As others have pointed out, the Touch was never intended as a server - the server functionality was an afterthought and a crude extra. It is a great streamer, so use it as such, and use any old PC, laptop, NAS or raspberry pi as a server.

[Mnyb]

AIFF hires migth need some transcoding that the onboard server on Touch can't handle .

Native aiff and alac above 16/44.1 had some bugs in the past ? , better let a real LMS server turn those to hirez flac with its transcoding

[iPhone]

The main reason I bought the SB Touch was to use it as a music server for my Flac and AIFF high-res audio files.

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Quick note on a simple Server Idea. First there is the R-Pi (Raspberry Pi) option and second one can use Vortexbox 2.3 ( www.vortexbox.org ) with just about any old laptop, PC, or NAS that has a motherboard or Vortexbox 2.4 with newer 64 bit machines or leftovers. Vortexbox 2.4 with only run on 64 bit machines. I have an Intel NUC (4 by 4 by 2 inch NUC with a 2TB drive running Vortexbox 2.4) that works great. Low power consumption very small footprint.

[drmatt]

OP is absent. Was this a UDP question?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[iPhone]

OP is absent. Was this a UDP question?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

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I should have looked at the OP first before posting for I didn't notice it was his first post. Hope I (we) didn't run him off as we are actually here to help!

[ralphpnj]

My guess is that the OP is/was a troll trying to cast doubt on the sound quality of the SB Touch while building up the wonders of the "great" FiiO X5 Gen II

Just saying.

[Julf]

My guess is that the OP is/was a troll trying to cast doubt on the sound quality of the SB Touch while building up the wonders of the "great" FiiO X5 Gen II

Just saying.

Considering it was his only posting, I think you are right.

[iPhone]

Considering it was his only posting, I think you are right.

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I even sent the OP a PM to let him know not to read any tone into my post and that I didn't notice it was his first post yet because his first post was in the Audiophile section, that wasn't a good place to start. I offered different things for him to check and try.

Mainly to run an LMS Server not mini-server on the Touch and make sure the the volume is at 100% on the Touch so there is not bit reduction.

[drmatt]

I have to say it's a crap marketing tactic to go slagging off a much loved obsolete music streamer to attempt to plug your portable music *player*. It's not even got a common function to talk about, it's just, different.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3003 using Tapatalk

[Golden Earring]

Marketing

I have to say it's a crap marketing tactic.

I'm of the opinion that all marketing tactics are crap...

Dave

BTW, I'm preferring the prospect of the UK's incipient "Coalition of Chaos" to the politicking on the left-hand side of the pond !