molingus - I have the exact same problem with the Dayton Amp with the tube pre-amp. I edit audio on my PC and need to hear the first second of everything, so I can’t use it with the PC. It is good to know that the optical doesn’t have this issue. I will try that.
Otherwise, for everyone else, it looks cool sitting on the desk but I hate the fan. It’s too noisy. With the noise gate (presumably) on the Aux input and fan noise, I’m glad I only paid $100 for it as an open box unit. It’s about to be listed on ebay... or maybe the garage stereo amp.