Can my digital signal get degraded within my audio interface?

[hum-free]

Hi there, you slutz out there!

I've got a TC Konnekt 8 Interface, and I think about buying a DA converter like Benchmark or Lavry for converting the RCA digital signal coming out of the Konnekt Interface.

I'm wondering if the Konnekt Interface (or any interface in general) still has influence on the sound if the signal stays in the digital domain, being simply passed through the interface to the DA. Cos if thats the case, maybe I should look for a better interface before buying a new DA.

The interface would only be used as a digital pass-through to the DA, so is it necessary to upgrade the interface or should I buy a DA?

What do you think??

Greetings, Hum-Free

[BLUElightCory]

If the signal isn't leaving the digital domain, then your Konnekt won't affect the sound. The sound will only be affected when it's converted from digital to analog or vice versa.

[hum-free]

Hey, thanks for your comment! That's what I expected. But what I don't understand is:

How can a firewire (or USB) cable affect the sound then? It carries a digital signal, so I would expect no signal change there, too. But there are some "Hi-End" firewire cables out there that are said to improve the sound... How can a digital signal be improved??

Greetings

Hum-Free

[Elk]

A cable can affect the signal if it impacts the timing of the data and perhaps other physical characteristics.

There are varying opinions as to whether this is audible.

[theblue1]

Originally Posted by hum-free

Hey, thanks for your comment! That's what I expected. But what I don't understand is:

How can a firewire (or USB) cable affect the sound then? It carries a digital signal, so I would expect no signal change there, too. But there are some "Hi-End" firewire cables out there that are said to improve the sound... How can a digital signal be improved??

Greetings

Hum-Free

Originally Posted by Elk

A cable can affect the signal if it impacts the timing of the data and perhaps other physical characteristics.

There are varying opinions as to whether this is audible.

As long as there are no errors in a digital signal transmission, the sound will not be affected.

Digital signal transmission uses what are essentially on-off signals to transmit data. The difference between the on and off signals is extremely easy to read correctly -- unlike low level analog signals, which, to transmit the signal correctly, must cover a broad range of frequencies and signal levels.

One area where problems arise in digital is when folks use improper cables -- particularly cables that are "out of spec" -- the engineering standards committees have determined safe cable lengths for digital and which, to avoid error, should not be exceeded.

But some of the very "boutique"/"magic" cable vendors that try to hawk snake oil to audiophiles have stuck their greedy hands into the digital arena, too, and in years past you've actually seen things like one vendor of digital leads (costing in the hundreds) that claimed "longer" is better in digital -- in complete contravention of established science. (Because of the very high effective signal frequencies of digital audio transmission, a digital cable that is too long for its specified purpose can end up with signal reflection that can lead to increased jitter.)


Here's a discussion thread led by converter design legend Dan Lavry which explores a number of digital signal mythologies, while focused on the (rather obviously bogus) claims of a boutique cable vendor:

PSW Recording Forums: Dan Lavry => Why longer is generally better for an S/PDIF Digital Cable [The title was drawn from the marketing materials of the boutique cable guy -- Lavry's position, along with others in the digital know, is that shorter is better with regards to such cables.]