How to Take Advantage of Digital Audio Output (S/PDIF)

12th December 2004

With so many Freeview receivers and all Sky+ receivers having a digital audio output these days, it makes sense to take advantage of the superior audio quality that can almost invariably be attained by using digital audio output (S/PDIF) rather than by using phono analogue audio outputs (or using a SCART to phono adapter followed by phono leads) to connect your receiver to your hi-fi system.

The reason why the audio quality is better via digital output than via analogue outputs is due to the quality of the analogue output electronic circuitry is very likely to be better on a hi-fi separate device than on a Freeview receiver or Sky digibox, although, the audio quality is still going to be better than on a DAB "hi-fi" separate tuner, because the audio quality on DAB is so low. The issue about the analogue output electronic circuitry is explained in more detail on the Audio Advice page.

There are 3 options if you want to take advantage of digital audio output on your hi-fi system:

Sony Minidisc player
AV receiver
hi-fi separate DAC (digital-to-analogue converter)

Sony Minidisc Player

The cheapest option is to buy a Sony Minidisc player which has a digital audio input. You can then use the Minidisc player as a DAC by ejecting any disc inside the machine and then pressing record. The display then changes to '-DA', which means it's in DAC mode (check that the device can do this prior to purchasing, although I would have thought that this was standard for all Sony Minidisc players).

An example of a reasonably-priced Sony Minidisc player with a digital input socket is the Sony MDS-JE480S for £97.72 including delivery.

AV Receiver

The vast majority of AV receivers have at least one, and usually more, digital audio inputs. This is a more expensive option than a Sony Minidisc player, but it has its own advantages, especially if you're planning to replace your audio amplifier.

Hi-Fi Separate DAC

Hi-fi DACs are quite rare these days, and are usually very expensive if bought new, but because they're specifically designed for the purpose of converting digital audio streams to analogue signals then they do provide the highest output audio quality of the 3 methods.