The REF Link is a USB-SPDIF converter.
A smaller/less featured USB-SPDIF converter is built into the DAC2.5
The external uLink mLink and REFLink provide some form of isolation of the noisy computer signals from the DAC itself. One end plugs into the computer's USB port, the other is a SPDIF type connection to the DAC (coax/optical or AES).
Besides the isolation, the new external devices also provide
a. asynchronous USB protocol (less prone to jitter)
b. 24/192 support that matches the SPDIF input capability of your DAC2.5
If you don't intend to upgrade the DAC2.5, I think it might be more cost effective to look at the lower end devices from Bel Canto
A smaller/less featured USB-SPDIF converter is built into the DAC2.5
The external uLink mLink and REFLink provide some form of isolation of the noisy computer signals from the DAC itself. One end plugs into the computer's USB port, the other is a SPDIF type connection to the DAC (coax/optical or AES).
Besides the isolation, the new external devices also provide
a. asynchronous USB protocol (less prone to jitter)
b. 24/192 support that matches the SPDIF input capability of your DAC2.5
If you don't intend to upgrade the DAC2.5, I think it might be more cost effective to look at the lower end devices from Bel Canto