Forget the toslink output from the Mac. High jitter, low sound quality.
Get a good self-powered USB to S/PDIF coax converter that works asynchronously up to 24/192. Make sure it has a good clock. This is actually more important than the DAC itself. Then get a good 1.5m S/PDIF cable to connect it to your DAC. The Ridge Street Audio is such a cable. I dont sell them and have no affiliation.
The clock in the Mac is not good enough for generate a low-jitter S/PDIF signal.
It's like a cartridge on a turntable. The master clock is where you want to put your money in digital audio.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Get a good self-powered USB to S/PDIF coax converter that works asynchronously up to 24/192. Make sure it has a good clock. This is actually more important than the DAC itself. Then get a good 1.5m S/PDIF cable to connect it to your DAC. The Ridge Street Audio is such a cable. I dont sell them and have no affiliation.
The clock in the Mac is not good enough for generate a low-jitter S/PDIF signal.
It's like a cartridge on a turntable. The master clock is where you want to put your money in digital audio.
Steve N.
Empirical Audio