New system with periodic sound dropouts

yes, that's right.  Just as a test.

Network drivers used to be able to make all sorts of things stutter when there was a lag. They'd get exclusive access to the CPU while trying to reconnect, or re-authenticate and nothing else could run.

Of course, I always hope (and hope and hope) that Windows got better about this, but it's trying for a couple of hours. :)

Best

Erik

On some laptops there's actually a physical switch disabling networking.

Another thing to test is to make sure all your power saving options are off.

My computer is a Dell Inspiron 3847 desktop connected wirelessly to AT&T’s network. The Microsoft Windows Update came through 9/30/2016. All music is stored on the internal hard drive.

It looks like your computer probably has a 1 TB 7200 rpm mechanical hard drive. One thing that may be worth checking is the fragmentation status of the drive, and if Windows has been automatically defragmenting it on a scheduled basis.

Type "disk defragmenter" into the search box at the lower left corner of the screen, and then click "defragment and optimize drives," to open the defragmenter program that is built into Windows. Given especially that your computer has probably had at least two major Windows updates (from Windows 8 or 8.1 to Windows 10, and the Windows 10 Anniversary Update), as well as the usual updates that are issued each month, if the defragmenter program isn’t set to run on a scheduled basis the files on your hard drive could be highly fragmented (meaning that individual files would be broken up into many different physical locations on the drive), which could be contributing to the problem.

Also, it looks like your computer has both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports. It might be worth trying whichever of them you haven’t been using to connect to the DAC.

Also, your computer was apparently offered with a choice of various amounts of RAM. If it has only the minimum 2 gB installed I would definitely suggest replacing or adding RAM to increase the total to at least 4 gB and preferably 8 gB.

Regards,
-- Al

Great research, Al. My computer came with Windows 10 and has a 1 TB hard drive with 8 GB RAM . It defragments weekly so no problem there. I don't know which USB ports are 3.0 or 2.0. There are 6 USB ports on the back panel but the only things connected are the DAC & a wireless keyboard and mouse signal (thingy). There are 2 unused USB ports on the front. So far today, after suggested alterations, (thanks everyone) I've heard no drop outs. Will keep my fingers crossed.