JKSPDIF MK3

Post date: 21-Mar-2012 19:44:46

March 2012

A ramble through digital audio transports See here

Excerpts:

............How does the Audiophilleo compare to the JKSPDIF? I get asked this question a lot. I've tried them both with a wide array of budget DACs over many, many months. There really isn't that much to separate them sonically. I could happily live with either (in the long-term) but I distinctly preferred the JKSPDIF with the Metrum Octave - it seemed to bring out more elasticity and tame some of the glassiness.

........... we both agreed that the Audiophilleo seemed to overcook the upper-mids on a couple of decoding boxes. This anomaly was tamed with a digital attenuator. The JKSPDIF MK3 seems to be kinder/gentler overall. Perhaps it's the battery technology?

........... The Hiface's internal buffering means the JKSPDIF is not so great for YouTube or web video - the image and sound will run out of sync - but it offers better immunity to sonic glitches heard via the Audiophilleo during CPU spikes and music library (hard-drive) scans.

............ BUT...I don't use my Squeezebox because it sounds weak, thin and un-involving when compared directly to theJKSPDIF MK3. Sigh. As good as it is, cleaning up the SBT's jitter with an Audio-gd Digital Interface isn't quite as emotionally engaging as a MacMini pushing a JKSPDIF. There's not much in it, but John Kenny's solution has the edge.