Ultra to Yamaha A-S801: coax or rca?

[Crichman]

The DAC chip in my Yamaha integrated amp is an ESS SABRE ES9010K2M, which looks pretty similar to the slightly newer chip in the Ultra, as far as I can tell from spec sheets.

Any wisdom to share on whether I’m likely to be happier using coax and the Yamaha DAC or RCA cables and the DAC in the Ultra?

I’m typically listening to uncompressed CD-quality audio through my Wharfdale EVO 4.2s.

 

[Ronnie D]

Any wisdom to share

Try both and see which you prefer.
If you use the RCA it will give you access to the different filters on the dac in the Ultra.
(Not saying I can hear a difference in the filters)

 

[d00]

Try both and see which you prefer.
If you use the RCA it will give you access to the different filters on the dac in the Ultra.
(Not saying I can hear a difference in the filters)
View attachment 34094

I can hear. The difference can be heard, for example, in the high-pitched sounds on the speakers playing on the warmer side. Check in the songs with a well-audible hi-hat or crash.

 

[r5yk5]

The DAC chip in my Yamaha integrated amp is an ESS SABRE ES9010K2M, which looks pretty similar to the slightly newer chip in the Ultra, as far as I can tell from spec sheets.

Any wisdom to share on whether I’m likely to be happier using coax and the Yamaha DAC or RCA cables and the DAC in the Ultra?

I’m typically listening to uncompressed CD-quality audio through my Wharfdale EVO 4.2s.

I just have them both connected. I tend to use my Amp's DAC. But occasionally I switch output on the Wiim and input in the amp to see if I can hear any difference.

And I never can

 

[Dude]

The DAC chip in my Yamaha integrated amp is an ESS SABRE ES9010K2M, which looks pretty similar to the slightly newer chip in the Ultra, as far as I can tell from spec sheets.

Any wisdom to share on whether I’m likely to be happier using coax and the Yamaha DAC or RCA cables and the DAC in the Ultra?

I’m typically listening to uncompressed CD-quality audio through my Wharfdale EVO 4.2s.

Try each for at least a week each. Then do some A/B comparison. Eventually, you will know which is the best. My money is on WiiM. You should be able to do both at same time. I have an old Oppo that plays CDs via its internal DAC (ESS, sounds best) or to a Yamaha AVR via HDMI (BB TI, virtually the same) or via Coaxial to external DAC (AKM, virtually the same). In the end, the DAC is not a Y in the road, it is just one new road vs another new road. The difference is so small, usually, it is not big enough to matter.