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192 from usb/spdif to NOS dac to amp

I have some flac files that I want to optimize the SQ on.
I have an Audio Note NOS DAC with USB and coax inputs.
I have a Mac MINI with USB out.

My thinking is that if I route the MAC USB to a USB/SPDIF converter that Audirvana will recognize as a 24/192 device that it will convert the flac to 24/192. Then the output of the flac from the converter will then output to the NOS DAC, through the coax (spdif) at a better resolution (sq). Then the dac will not over sample anything at all because it has all been accomplished by the usb/spdif converter.

On my dac, the USB is inferior to the coax input but I do not have any way of converting my flac to any higher resolution that 24/96.

I hope this is enough info.
128x128mattzack2

Showing 2 responses by kijanki

kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
If your D/A converter operates straight from 192kHz than it might get even worse since converter's THD is higher at 192kHz than 96kHz. My Benchmark DAC1 upsamples to very high frequency but then down-converts to drive DAC at only 110kHz (in spite of D/A chip being 192kHz capable).
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
Matt, the difference between traditional converter and
sigma-delta is pretty much the same as the difference between
CD and SACD. Instead of creating many discrete voltage
levels, corresponding to input code, Sigma-Delta creates
bitstream of varying duty cycle that after filtering (taking
average) delivers voltage proportional to duty cycle. SACD
is exactly that but unfiltered yet. There are several
advantages of Sigma Delta the most important is moving
quantization noise to much higher frequencies outside of the
audioband. Quantization noise in normal people language
means simply "steps". Sigma Delta has only one
large step (being one-bit converter) but repeated at very
high frequency. Any residue of the steps has very high
inaudible frequency. For SACD it is 2.8MHz.
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