USB Audio and Thunderbolt Dock

Discussion in 'Computer Audiophile: Software, Configs, Tools' started by cooperpwc, Jun 6, 2017.

  1. cooperpwc

    cooperpwc Friend

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    It is time for me to get a new computer (as I do every three years and my SP2 is actually dying). It will probably be the new Thinkpad X1 Yoga gen2. This has the newfangled USB C / Thunderbolt 3 ports.

    I have a pretty good USB audio system based on Foobar feeding Gungnir Multibit via Wyrd. I am well aware of the principle that one should always take the most direct connection from the motherboard to minimize jitter, therefore USB docks are to be avoided. In this case there is a Thunderbolt dock available that provides power in through the Thinkpad's USB C port while offering a multitude of monitor and USB ports out. It is an attractive option if I can use one of its USB ports to feed Wyrd and Gungnir Multibit without sound deterioration. (I will also use its DisplayPort to my external monitor, USB ports for occasional other peripherals like iPhone and printer, as well as feeding power into the Thinkpad). However, if I should still plug Wyrd and Gungnir Multibit directly into one of the Thinkpad's dedicated USB ports for optimal sound, then the dock's expense and desktop footprint make a lot less sense.

    So my question is: given the data transfer rates of the Thunderbolt 3 technology, should this dock be expected to cause jitter or other deterioration of sound quality compared with the more direct USB connection to the Thinkpad's motherboard?

    There may not be a perfect answer and it may be a stupid question. Any advice or thoughts are appreciated with thanks in advance.
     
  2. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    I think it's conceivable that such a dock will bring it's own electrical noise. It's designed to host Graphics cards that are incredibly powerful and noisy themselves. It's likely not to have audiophilia as it's first concern in design. Digital audio is not a resource intensive thing, but is very sensitive, so IMO the more gear you have the worse off you're likely to be. IMO beyond USB the next most logical step for a laptop is Dante/Ravenna/AES67 if you have a decent DAC. Gungnir Multibit should benefit very well.

    The AteroTech UnDAES-0 is $600. An ethernet switch is cheap, an AES to BNC converter will be like $100 for a good one. There is the AtteroTech limitation of 96/24, but for Red Book this is an awesome solution.
     
  3. cooperpwc

    cooperpwc Friend

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    @GoodEnoughGear Thanks for the thoughts. It had occurred to me that the Thunderbolt dock may not even be better than a standard USB dock, let alone on par with the Thinkpad's dedicated USB ports, what with power flowing the other way. (Although my external monitor is just 1080p for now so not too resource intensive.)
     
  4. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    If it's just a USB dock over the USBC/Thunderbolt port (as opposed to a dock that will take a PCIE card) it may actually be better. I was assuming the docks that can take a PCI or PCIe audio card (Sonnett, RME etc.)
     
  5. cooperpwc

    cooperpwc Friend

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    The Thunderbolt dock is just providing USB 3 and DisplayPort/HDMI outs, with power to the computer going in, all through a single USB C port on the Thinkpad. The dock does not host any cards.

    It does have its own power supply so that it can charge the Thinkpad.
     
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2017
  6. cooperpwc

    cooperpwc Friend

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    To close this out, I went with the new Thinkpad X1 Carbon (5th gen) and passed on buying the dock. There are lots of native ports on the X1 Carbon and I cannot go wrong with the most direct connection to the motherboard.
    I got the 1 TB Solid State Drive OPAL2.0 PCIe-NVMe. So my computer will be a standalone music server - no external drive. :punk: FYI Lenovo has a sale on now through June 14 on SSD upgrades and I saved several hundred dollars going big. If you are a Thinkpad fan, it is worth taking a quick look.
     
  7. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    Good info, also many laptops use USB hubs that connect to keyboard and trackpad, more noise sources. Device MGR should help you id and avoid. Nothing but dac should be on usb if at all possible. Shared drive on another machine connected via ethernet is poor mans way to get great sound.

    Which brings us to the built in monitor, noisy. This is a big weakness on most laptops, try putting display to sleep (off) after you start the playlist or run an external for even better results, in my experience.
     
  8. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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