Best Digital Input from PC to DAC

My setup involves a Vista desktop or XP laptop to firewire Focusrite Saffire LE, Paradisea+ NOS DAC with Bendix tube output stage, the non-USB version, a NuForce processor, Gemstone amp, and Selah Audio 5.1 speaker setup. Using FLAC and either Foobar or Media Monkey. Speaker cables are twelve guage wire and homemade, silver series interconnects, stock firewire cable. Various configurations are possible. I've never really got around to a proper home setup since the basement is still not finished.

Look into firewire. Much better than USB.

A low cost option might be iTunes feeding an Apple Express with TOSLINK output connected to a Benchmark DAC1. The DAC1 is not the latest and greatest but has a long reputation at being good at removing bad jitter. Another option would be to get the USB DAC1 version (which is newer and may not be easy to find second hand - also being newer I am not sure if it has an established good track record). An alternative would be the Lavry DA10 which claims to have good jitter rejection (although I have no experience with that one)

Be careful of those "low-jitter" claims. Even Stereophile made measurements on Squeezebox and Sonos - they were both low according to them (under 500psec), and the Sonos was only slightly worse, and yet the jitter is obvious on both and a LOT worse on the Sonos.

Steve N.

Cerrot - you have not heard every USB converter or DAC, so please reserve judgement. I will put my USB converter up against your Firewire anytime. I'm confident that I would win the shootout.

I realize that you believe your system sounds great etc., but trust me, there are lots of systems out there are are superior. Everyone is at a different level here. It is all relative.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio