2. pc-audio
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Do all computers output digital thru USB?

Forgive my newbee question but I want to output a digital signal to my USB DAC from my computer. How do I know if my computer outputs digital thru its USB port or analog? How do I get a digital stream to output to my DAC? Thanks for the look and the help. Really.
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johnss
569 posts
 
on your PC you can also pull the digital audio off the PCI or PCIe bus, if you have the right card, and go to AES/EBU.
johangrb
6 posts
 
Your best option is probably SPDIF digital out to DAC. USB limits you to 16bit, 44Khz. With Spdif you can go24/94 or higher.

Another option is the $150 M2Tech Hiface gadget. Converts USB - SPDIF (RCA/BNC).
6550c
393 posts
 
My computer has a SPDIF out and it sound really really bad.
I tried going from PC to a Theata DAC and then had a panic attack wondering just how much $$$$ I could spend to get it to sound right.
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