iMac to DAC via 3.5 mini-phono jack/RCA IC?

I did not know it was only optical. Thanks.

No USB DAC for me. Been there, done that. Didn't like it. My current source is iTransport. Looking for more remote freedom, larger screen, w/ iTunes.

With regards to USB DAC's; I tried a number of them over a year ago when I decided to migrate to a music server and sold my CDP (Accustic Arts CDP-1). I auditioned everything from cheap computer store types under $100, like the SilverStone EB01, to around $1K with the Benchmark DAC1, Bel Canto e.One Dac3, PS Audio DL, and on up to the Wavelength Brick and $3500 Cosecant. None of them were satisfying enough. And if a $3500 USB DAC wasn't doing it for me, then I had to try something else.

Of the USB DAC's I auditioned the Benchmark took the prize for the worst sound. It was just terrible. This surprised me given all the praise. The PS Audio was actually the most impressive for the cost in my humble opinion. Very smooth and analog-isque. The Brick excelled when I used NOS tubes, coming close to the Cosecant. The Bel Canto was defective. I tried two and the USB did not work. Perhaps the Stahl-Tek Vekian may have proven to be the ultimate solution, but then again I didn't have $12K.

I went some months, off and on, w/o a source. Sooloos, like the Vekian, was way too expensive for a music server (a high-end computer that will be obsolete in 6 months). Another one, Resolution Audio, only sold as a whole system. Then I tried the Squeezebox3 (digital output only, of course). This was much better then the USB DAC's. But it had constant drop-out issues. That turned me off wireless. So there just wasn't a complete, reliable, and affordable solution that I liked. This is what happens when you get into the 'high' of high-end audio with tube based gear and horn speakers. The bar is set too high. But at least my source can never out perform the rest of the system. I'll hear everything.

My system has changed since, but the iTransport via a Stealth Varidig digital IC w/ custom RCA's to a Reimyo DAP-777 has proven to be the most satisfying digital I have heard from my system in 18 years. I even tried a couple reputable USB/SPDIF converters. Aaack!! Atrocious.

'Bright' is an accurate description of how I would describe the Benchmark USB DAC1. So bright in fact that I analogized it as; "the walls of my ears were being stripped, like solvents to paint". It was simply a case of being outclassed by the rest of my system, as were the other USB DAC's. I could hear their limitations, like bad digital transfers viewed on a 1080p plasma.

I used a high-end silver power cord with my iMac, plugged into a Walker VelocitorS. I like to keep my system simple. Shortest path possible. Avoiding all the extra cables and devices and power cords....

"i also have played with the sooloos system. what a waste of $$$ IMO. you get a decent interface and thats about it. my iphone remote app does a better job at presenting music anywhere in my house than the sooloos does. and when you cost out the sooloos system with the appropriate setup to make it fault tolerant (raid setup), able to perform backups, whole house server, terabytes worth of storage, you are approaching $20k+ and it contains a terrible dac (that might be updated by now). again, IMO."

That's rather harsh criticism about the Sooloos. Hard to imagine it's as bad as you describe it for the cost. I know a local dealer who carries it (haven't had a chance to audition), but he wouldn't do so unless it performed up there with the best sources. He uses a Stahl-tek Vekian DAC with it.