Digital or analog connection for stereo setup?

[RumNYC]

I have an AVR300 hookup up to just a pair of b&w nautilus 804 speakers (bi-amped), so essentially, i have a stereo setup as opposed to a surround setup. I also have Denon DVD-2910 hooked up via digital coax AND using the 2ch rca line out (not the L+R of the multichannel out) using kimber tonik interconnects. Doing some informal listening using the analog in direct mode and the Stereo PCM mode, and using an SACD recording, I couldn't tell much of a difference (they both sound REALLY GOOD). I am wondering if anyone else noticed a big difference between digital and analog in a similar setup. A friend of my (with an all linn setup) told me analog interconnects is the only way to go to prevent 'jitter' (not even sure i fully understand what it means), but i am a bit skeptical wheter thats true or not.

[tvh3ad]

To slightly oversimplify: if you're comparing Analog/Direct vs. Stereo PCM via the same transport mechanism, then any difference you are hearing is most likely attributable to the interconnects and DACs. In other words, in analog/direct mode you're using the Denon DAC and analog cabling, while in stereo PCM mode you're using the Arcam DAC and digital coax or optical cable.

Sonic differences vary widely from player to player. In my case, I have an Arcam DV27A/AVR300 combo and when I A/B switch between analog direct and stereo PCM, the difference is immediately apparent. For music and high-rez audio, I use the 27A's DAC; for film, I use the AVR300.

Hope this helps.