Is RPi5 better then RPi3B for sound quality?

[SanjeevM]

RPi5 is a much better hardware as compared to RPi3B.  But is it better for SQ, when it is used in conjunction with Allo Boss2 dac or Katana DAC? (The experience with RPi4 reported on these forums was that 4 was inherently noisier.)

[jenzd]

Sound quality should actually be the same for all Raspberry Pi versions if an external DAC (i.e. digital output from the Pi) is used. Even a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W is more than fast enough for flawless digital output. SQ should therefore only depend on the DAC itself.

[feflo]

@jenzd - But it is not - "The experience with RPi4 reported on these forums (not only - iiwi reviews) was that 4 was inherently noisier" and sharper sound via gpio devices and no matter if it is dac or digital "transport" (e.g. Allo Digione). Opposite situation is if u r using dac connected via usb (RPi 4 - better sound, older RPis worse sound).

@SanjeevM - sorry, but i have no answer for u - have not RPi5, only couple of 1-4.

[the_bertrum]

I've never seen any measurements that show the effects ascribed to the different models, so personally I'm very sceptical. However, if there is a difference, then you'll either be capable of hearing it or not, so the only way to know if it sounds better for you is for you to try it.