Quick question…Can I have both these connections plugged into the K50 at the same time so I can switch back and forth?
I ask this question because past players I’ve had it won’t work. It’s one or the other.
Just a 2cents / 2 pence answer, I have always followed the advice that if one is trying to evaluate the sound quality of different outputs / inputs then it is best to unplug all other output cables in case the unused one is inadvertently carrying any noise etc.
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yeah it’s good advice. I more evaluating the inputs on my MSB DAC than the K50. In theory no noise should travel (via USB) to the DAC since it’s a fiber input. Same logic applies though, I agree with you. Safes me a few trips back and forth to the rack though! 
I am doing the same exercise with my k50 to see which output I prefer into my MScaler or direct into the Dave. At the moment I am quite liking bnc but also the optical output is catching my attention now that I have installed a decent glass cable.
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Interesting! I may have to go on this adventure at some point! So far USB is proving to be every so slightly inferior to AES. You could almost say it’s a preference thing. In all fairness one cable is brand new the other fully broken in. I’ve always just found AES to have a little better rhythm and smoothness. USB does however give me more options. It does work well to switch with both plugged in as well.
Do you know if we can rip SACD to this thing? I have the ripper just not sure if those can be ripped.
No the K50 can’t do that.
SACDs can be ripped using certain specific models of blu-ray players. I use a fairly inexpensive Sony to rip mine. It’s a multi-step process so not as straightforward as ripping a CD. There’s an entire thread in the software section on Audiophile Style on this.
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Uhhgh…Seems like alot of work just to hear how it sounds through my system. thx
I have terabytes of ripped SACDs. Send me a PM if you are interested in me sharing a track or two with you.
As a matter of interest, what optical cable are you using?
One of my adult daughters has been back from London working from home in our home and that has rather curtailed my listening experiments but today she went back and I managed to get some good listening in. I fear that upon extended listening the optical output from the K50 to the MScaler was a red herring. I am now back to using the BNC output from the K50.
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After doing quite a lot of comparing personally I prefer AES EBU, then i2s, in third is ethernet, then USB. All this can depend on what brand and model of cable is being used though. In general I use either Atlas Mavros or Argento cables. More often then not I have a Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC paired with the K50, it is interesting to have all four different cables connected between the Tambaqui and K50 and switch between the four.
cheers,
Terry
With my own set-up & with such outputs as I tried, my own preference was AES/EBU, then USB, followed by ethernet to a Roon endpoint (MBL N31) & in a distant 4th the S/PDIF optical. The optical (Kimber optical cable) I only tried after I became inquisitive following an earlier comment from NickBacon.
The sound quality through USB (Live Cable Xtreme USB) whilst not to the standard I obtain with AES/EBU (MIT Oracle MA-X) was still excellent though .
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