… pretty much says it - I want to upgrade from my Auralic Aries G1 to an Antipodes, which will then work as Roon Core, Server with internal storage and as Streamer (hope I got that right)… now I do NOT want to play with different cable settings and stuff, I basically want one connection to hook it up to the DAC, feeding ONE HiFi System in my Listening Room and be happy ever after - from what I understand the K21 with USB will be (and sound) exactly the same as the K22 with USB?
Is that right?
The the main reason to go with K22 is the additional outputs and inputs, including Coax.?
Is there any reason why Coax woudl sound better when using Antipodes?
For the record - with my Auralic I find Coax superior to USB - so I´m unsure which way to go here.
I’ll leave the K series responses for people who actually have one, but would have thought your DAC should ideally be part of the equation. E.g. Reviews of my DAC have suggested that it sounds at its best through I2S, and my player doesn’t have that option, so I have just bought a reasonable DDC to be able to try it (just arrived and not even plugged in yet, so still all theoretical for the moment).
The K22 has provides synchronous outputs. USB is asynchronous. The difference amounts to which device’s clock is used for digital to analog conversion. With asynchronous, the DAC’s clock is used, while with synchronous the server’s clock is used. The clock in the K22 will be superior to the clock found in many DACs. When that’s the case, it’s likely the synchronous inputs will sound better. Not always the case though as how well the DAC manufacturer implemented the interface plays a big part.
I was never able to do an apples-to-apples comparison as the cable can matter a lot - maybe more than the interface choice.
