[IDEA] HDD direct connection VS Network/upnp play.. best quality..

[noble]

Hi all,
I'm running moOde on Allo USBridge Signature.. 
Recently i came across a disucsion that says DONOT Connect SSDs /HDDs directly to Allo... always use Pen Drive/ network play.. but the same time there are discussions that says playback from direct connected HDD is btter...
I wonder which method is best in terms of sound quality... 
thanks for your views.

[TheOldPresbyope]

Hi all,
I'm running moOde on Allo USBridge Signature.. 
Recently i came across a disucsion that says DONOT Connect SSDs /HDDs directly to Allo... always use Pen Drive/ network play.. but the same time there are discussions that says playback from direct connected HDD is btter...
I wonder which method is best in terms of sound quality... 
thanks for your views.

It's really hard to know what you mean here by "in terms of sound quality". 

We're talking about digital bits and bytes at the source end. All these different devices do is deliver the digital information to the music player daemon (MPD) in moOde. If the bytes arrive in a timely fashion, the source medium doesn't matter. If the bytes arrive too slowly from a device, then MPD will report underruns and you'll experience audio dropouts playing from that device. Is this what you mean by "sound quality"? 

Do these discussions you refer to say there is some technical reason an SSD or HDD can't be connected directly to an Allo USBridge Signature? Words like "better"  and "always" do not constitute technical reasons.

I have no Allo products, but using moOde on various RPis, I've played tracks from every source medium you mention without an issue. In the case of directly connected HDDs, in particular, you have to make sure they don't draw too much current via the USB connector, but this is a system issue independent of a sound quality discussion.

Regards,
Kent

[jonners]

I think the only answer to this question is to try all the different methods and decide for yourself which gives the best 'sound quality' (whatever that means to you). That's what I have done. My preference is influenced by my system, the kind of music I listen to, and the qualities that I personally consider to constitute 'good sound'. Knowing the preferences of others is not necessarily going to be very helpful to you.