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USB vs. HDMI vs. Toslink

I understand USB connections when going digital is the best possible, but, that isn't an option with my current setup. My two options are, 1: use my desktop as optical out (kernel streaming), or, 2: use my laptop as hdmi out (wasapi). What do you guys think is the best option? Both can do 24/192, but the optical maybe sounds a bit more dynamic, although sometimes it develops an annoying crackle noise. Thanks for the help
oedstrom11
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
If you are using a laptop as a source, the best option you can probably do is to get a USB-to-S/PDIF re-clocker, such as the Wyred 4 Sound uLINK ($299). There are others, such as Singxer F1 ($200). Or go high end such as Audio-GD DI-20 ($550) or DI-20H ($1000). Or even Denafrips Gaia ($2300).

Then use a digital COAX cable to connect to your dac/receiver.  Or even BNC if you have the connections.
oedstrom11 OP
9 posts
 
So while getting a converter is a good option for my current setup, when I get a new dac with a usb input, I would assume laptop > very nice usb > dac would be of better quality than laptop > very nice usb > converter > nice coax/bnc > dac?
ghdprentice
6,381 posts
 
Yes, a very high probability. Less is always more, and conversion is never a good thing.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 
It really depends on how good the USB receiver/clocker module is in your new "nice DAC".  If you get a DAC with a nice upgraded version of the Amanero USB module with good clocks and power supply, it could be better than a USB-to-SPDIF re-clocker. 

However, if you go with one of the high end models (Audio-GD or Denafrips Gaia), it is likely that these would be superior than what you find in a DAC. 

All DACs have to take the USB data packets, un-wrap the data and then clock the data at proper timing for the DAC (based on the sampling rate of your audio file - such as 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 96kHz, etc.).
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