[mcconnel]

Source is my Win10 PC.

Soundcard is the integrated sound on my board:

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/GA-Z97X-Gaming-G1-rev-10#ov

Creative® Sound Core3D™ Quad-Core Audio Processor

I am going to run OUT from that soundcard via OPTICAL in to my Schitt DAC (then balanced to amp and balanced out to cans via XLR)

Thanks team.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Think that's the best way to go. But you have dual DAC-UP USB ports too. Maybe just marketing hype. But won't hurt to explore if indeed its "clean". Never had it in my Gigabyte board.

 

[mcconnel]

Yeah am I supposed to assume that those dual DAC-UP are USB Digital Audio Out!? What is the rate that interface would operate at? Would it be better than optical out?

 

[mcconnel]

From an article: "USB is often limited to 16-bit/48kHz audio, while SPDIF can support up to 24-bit/192kHz."

That's really something to think about. I wonder if my specific audio card puts out more via USB DAC UP or optical?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Nope it depends on how your app sends it and how much your dac supports it. Anyway DAC-UP are usb ports with cleaner power. So don't know to what extent its "clean". Suggesting to expertiment both and trust your ears.

 

[redrol]

spdif out means the computer has no effect on the dac, enjoy

 

[mcconnel]

Wait... what!? What about USB out?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Not true. You will have always jitter even if its optical(toslink). And depends on how resolving your system to hear these differences.

 

[gregorio]

I am going to run OUT from that soundcard via OPTICAL in to my Schitt DAC

That should be audibly perfect, assuming of course your DAC handles it competently.

From an article: "USB is often limited to 16-bit/48kHz audio, while SPDIF can support up to 24-bit/192kHz."

The article is wrong. The first widely adopted USB protocol 1.1 (1998) incorporated Audio Class 1.0, which specified up to 24/96. USB Audio Class 2.0 (2009), specifies up to 32bit and sample rates >96kHz. If a USB port/output were limited to 16/48 then it would not be a USB output.

You will have always jitter even if it’s optical(toslink).

True, you will always have some jitter. How much depends on the jitter removal/reduction circuitry built into every DAC.

And depends on how resolving your system to hear these differences.

Not true, it doesn’t make any difference. The jitter even from cheap consumer devices (OEM CD and DVD drives/players for example) in the late 1990’s was already an order of magnitude below audibility. So even a hypothetically perfect amp and speakers/HPs wouldn’t make any difference.

G

 

[redrol]

Not true. You will have always jitter even if its optical(toslink). And depends on how resolving your system to hear these differences.

You do realize studios use SPDIF connections all over the place right?

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

That (SPDIF) was also my recommendation (read my 1st post), BUT advised the OP to test also the dedicated/clean USB port for DAC (DAC-UP) w/c the M/B has. And evaluate. To explore other options and not just one.

 

[gregorio]

You do realize studios use SPDIF connections all over the place right?

To be fair, we usually use AES/EBU digital connections or MADI but we do sometimes use SPDIF and there’s no real issue with it except for limited cable lengths.

G

 

[gimmeheadroom]

You do realize studios use SPDIF connections all over the place right?

No, S/PDIF is a consumer interface. Studios use mostly some variant of AES.

 

[gregorio]

No, S/PDIF is a consumer interface.

Yes it is, but at one time it was very common to find SPDIF connections on studio equipment. These days most professional audio is done “in the box”, (with DAWs and plugins) so there’s relatively few hard digital connections, except in certain circumstances.

G

 

[bixby]

A fair amount of bad info in this thread. Toslink is one of the worst for jitter at up to 20 times worse than decently implemented USB, yet all people want to talk about is it galvanically isolated. Yea but it still transits noise in the data stream and jitter.

Can USB be better, not perfect, but yes of course, especially when the USB portion of the dac is well designed. And one has to remember the clocks in most dacs are async and much better with USB. Not the piece of crap clock in our PC trying to time sensitive audio stream via spdif toslink.