Concerns of jitter over toslink to external DAC

[Bullish9250]

I'm looking for a reliable audiophile multiroom solution for spotify connect with zero room-to-room latency.
Previously I was on Volumio, and then lately lms+pcp (both on a pi) with USB out to a topping d30pro. The audio quality over USB was undeniably excellent given the high quality clock in the topping. The streaming capabilities however left much to be desired. I am now officially done with ssh-ing in to the Pi and asking chatgpt to analyze my log files to figure out why playback stops mid-playlist all the time.

To address the hacky nature of librespot, I have now decided there is no way round this other than to pay the Spotify tax to get a legit Spotify certified solution.
The obvious next stop for me was thus the consideration of multiple Minis as a pure streamer for the 4 rooms in my home to output to the rest of my stack.

Amir over at ASR measured quite large jitter coming out the toslink. How will this manifest in the real world? audible noise? some other fidelity compromises?
Would it make sense for me to get the ultra just for the USB? Or maybe even the pro+ with its async TI4392 reclock from RCA?

 

[Valentino]

If you’re concerned with the jitter on Toslink from the Mini get the number of Pro Pluses you need and no extra DACs.

 

[Bullish9250]

If you’re concerned with the jitter on Toslink from the Mini get the number of Pro Pluses you need and no extra DACs.

i already have all the dacs amps and speakers. just need to replace the 4 existing pis with 4 x streamers. sorry should have mentioned.
i could possibly do that, but if jitter doesn't manifest as any audio quality defect or noise, i would not spend money on the pro+ since i don't need any of its other capabilities over the mini.

 

[Valentino]

I see. There is an intermediate in the standard Pro. An excellent Toslink and also better cpu capacity. It can for example play from LMS, the best local steaming service ever created.

 

[Bullish9250]

I see. There is an intermediate in the standard Pro. An excellent Toslink and also better cpu capacity. It can for example play from LMS, the best local steaming service ever created.

i'm using it purely for spotify connect so i won't be needing lms.
will that excellent toslink on the pro translate to any audible differences over the toslink on the mini?
btw, what's your experience with multiroom? any latency?

 

[canard]

I'm looking for a reliable audiophile multiroom solution for spotify connect with zero room-to-room latency.
Previously I was on Volumio, and then lately lms+pcp (both on a pi) with USB out to a topping d30pro. The audio quality over USB was undeniably excellent given the high quality clock in the topping. The streaming capabilities however left much to be desired. I am now officially done with ssh-ing in to the Pi and asking chatgpt to analyze my log files to figure out why playback stops mid-playlist all the time.

To address the hacky nature of librespot, I have now decided there is no way round this other than to pay the Spotify tax to get a legit Spotify certified solution.
The obvious next stop for me was thus the consideration of multiple Minis as a pure streamer for the 4 rooms in my home to output to the rest of my stack.

Amir over at ASR measured quite large jitter coming out the toslink. How will this manifest in the real world? audible noise? some other fidelity compromises?
Would it make sense for me to get the ultra just for the USB? Or maybe even the pro+ with its async TI4392 reclock from RCA?

What kind of music is it for listening to?

The most common argument you'll come across is that on this type of recent DAC, the input processing will be efficient enough to reduce the problem... I'd say to experiment and not rely on feedback from the internet and strangers ;-)
the musical choices, the levels of requirements, the "expertise", the listening conditions varied too much etc....
I will expect nothing very useful from our discussions on these subjects except to strengthen you in your already existing convictions.
forces us to do our own experiments...
;-)

on the other hand, the feedback on the latency stories should be of interest...;-)

 

[Wiimer]

i'm using it purely for spotify connect so i won't be needing lms.
will that excellent toslink on the pro translate to any audible differences over the toslink on the mini?
btw, what's your experience with multiroom? any latency?

By "latency" do you mean synchronisation between devices in multi-room music?

I play Spotify on 2-3 WiiMs in a multi-room and have never had a synchronisation problem. Also, WiiM has auto and manual sync features.

 

[HansD-NL]

i already have all the dacs amps and speakers. just need to replace the 4 existing pis with 4 x streamers. sorry should have mentioned.
i could possibly do that, but if jitter doesn't manifest as any audio quality defect or noise, i would not spend money on the pro+ since i don't need any of its other capabilities over the mini.

Once you discover how great it is to have a streamer that is also a Chromecast Audio/Google Cast device you will "never" look back at the mini

 

[Burnside]

From your query on ASR, “From Amir’s reviews, jitter via toslink isn’t an issue”

Post in thread 'Multi-room Spotify suggestions (streamer only)'
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-suggestions-streamer-only.63442/post-2325907

 

[Burnside]

Once you discover how great it is to have a streamer that is also a Chromecast Audio/Google Cast device you will "never" look back at the mini

Fair point - if I was starting out again, I’d go for a Pro or Pro Plus as the entry level model due to their additional connectivity and features over the Mini, plus they have four times the ram and twice the cpu cores which allows them to be more future proof over the Mini which must be near the limit of what it can accommodate.

 

[canard]

From your query on ASR, “From Amir’s reviews, jitter via toslink isn’t an issue”

Post in thread 'Multi-room Spotify suggestions (streamer only)'
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-suggestions-streamer-only.63442/post-2325907

what onlyoneme presented here is more interesting...after impact or not..that's another subject
;-)
(even if we essentially just observe the jitter at the output buffering level...and not in reality what is happening upstream in the processing etc.)

 

[dangermouse]

Stop fretting about jitter and enjoy the music!

 

[HansD-NL]

I read somewhere (maybe here on the forum) and think its accurate, that trying to hear the effect of jitter is the same as trying to hear a feather landing on the back of a cat while listening to music at Dance Club level.

 

[Burnside]

I read somewhere (maybe here on the forum) and think its accurate, that trying to hear the effect of jitter is the same as trying to hear a feather landing on the back of a cat while listening to music at Dance Club level.

Unless you stand on the cat’s paw

 

[HansD-NL]

Unless you stand on the cat’s paw

My cat likes to stand/trample on my feet but that also doesn't make any sound whatsoever (like jitter)
On topic now, sorry.