I suspect Toslink from Mac would definitely benefit from reclocking. Optical is great avoiding ground loops, has no transmission line effects and is immune to ambient electrical noise, but because of slow transitions it suffers from the system noise on the either side (computer or DAC). Since every computer is pretty noisy I would avoid this route without reclocking. Asynchronous USB, when designed right, can be almost perfect - at least in theory.
Direct optical out of Mac vs USB asynchronous
I seem to recall that most Mac's let you take a digital stream of sound directly out of one of the jacks (headphone?) with a special connector. This bypasses the USB connector, which is considered such a source of trouble that we seek reclocking via asynchronous devices.
Does direct digital also need reclocking?
Why don't we hear of more people using direct digital out from Macintosh vs using the USB? Have any of you tried it?
Does direct digital also need reclocking?
Why don't we hear of more people using direct digital out from Macintosh vs using the USB? Have any of you tried it?