@dadneedshifi exactly. Here are a few pointers: both coax and optical transmit the same signal, this format is called S/PDIF which stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format. The difference between them is down to isolation, and bandwidth. Optical uses fibreglass wire to transmit light pulses, but they are so frequent it seems to be constant light when you look at them. As the wire is made of plastic or glass there is no electrical connection between a source and a receiver. That's super helpful when connecting TVs and satellite receivers as they are super noisy. We don't want that in our audio setup, oh no. When using more audiophile (or just plainly better designed) sources, you can use coaxial. It has better bandwidth, so it can transmit a higher sampling rate for music (optical is usually limited to 96 kHz), and usually sounds better.Thanks. That’s super helpful. The stream does seem particular useful to me. I’m perfectly happy with the Rotel DAC, so the Stream does seem like a very good option.
And it connects via coaxial or optical, correct?
Your Rotel also has a USB input that you can utilise. According to the manufacturer, it supports up to 32-bit and 384 kHz digital signals along with MQA. That's more than coaxial can provide, and if you're planning on listening to Tidal it might be the most beneficial connection here. MQA is a special format that allows Tidal to stream high-resolution files to you without using lots of internet bandwidth. So your internet bill stays the same, while the music sounds more realistic. The Zen Stream has a dedicated USB Audio output that is almost noise-free exactly for situations like this. So I would start tests here.
@Helix Hifi we don't provide optical output in this model, as we believe that electrical connections usually provide superior sound quality. What is your reasoning behind favouring optical? I'm very curious to hear your opinion
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