I’m Ben from Cambridge Audio.
We’re known for making a great range of hi-fi products including the awesome CX Series.
Today I’m here to tell you about the difference between Class 1 and Class 2 USB Audio
USB Audio is an audio connection, which is used to send digital music from a computer to a DAC.
There two different classes of USB Audio: Class 1 and Class 2.
Both can handle high resolution music, far better than a CD, but there’s a key difference between the two.
Class 1 supports up to a maximum resolution audio of 24-bit/96kHz audio.
If you want to play higher resolution music than 24/96 through your DAC, then you’ll need to use Class 2.
because Class 2 supports up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution, studio master quality audio.
But how do you know which USB Class you’re using?
Both of these classes, or modes, are supported by Cambridge Audio USB DACs.
Your DAC will ship in Class 1 mode as default.
You can switch between the two modes as required.
This is quick and easy to do and on our products is either done in the Settings menu, or by pressing and holding buttons on the front panel.
So, if Class 2 is better, why do you need Class 1at all?
To understand why, we need to learn a bit about the three main parts to any USB audio system.
First is the media player. This is the software used to organise and play your music. This could be iTunes, Windows Media Player, Spotify, etc.
Next is the driver. This is the USB driver that is built into the Windows or Mac operating system.
Finally we have the USB device itself. This is the DAC being used. This could be a DacMagic, CXN, CXA80, or any product with a USB Audio input.
This is the same for both Windows and Mac computers. However, this is where the similarity between Mac and Windows ends.
As default, Mac computers support both Class 1 and Class 2
allowing you to put your DAC into Class 2 mode and send up to 24/192 music straight to the DAC, nice and easy!
Windows is slightly more complicated.
As default, Windows computers only support Class 1 USB Audio, allowing you to send a maximum of 24/96 resolution music to the DAC.
If you put your DAC into Class 2 mode, the built-in Windows driver will not recognise the DAC, and no music will be heard.
So to use Class 2 with your Windows computer you need to install a Class 2 USB driver onto your computer.
Mac computers already have this installed as default
For all Cambridge Audio USB DACs, this driver is available as a free download from our support website, along with full setup instructions.
With the Windows Class 2 driver installed, you can switch your DAC into Class 2 mode, and send up to 24/192 music to the DAC, just like a Mac
The built-in Windows Class 1 driver will not have been deleted, and if you want to go back to using that
then you can switch your DAC back into Class 1 mode at any point.
In both Class 1 and Class 2 modes, you bypass the poor quality DAC in the computer.
and send the digital music directly to your own hi-fi or DAC which sounds much better.
Using Class 2 mode gives a couple of further benefits:
For both Windows and Mac, using Class 2 means you can play up to 24-bit/192k resolution music through the DAC, over USB.
For Windows, we’ve seen that you need to install the special Class 2 driver.
This not only lets you play 24/192 music, but also more importantly, our driver delivers bit-perfect, distortion free music, far better than the built-in Windows driver.