[lordsegan]

I have been over at the head-fi.org forum (specializes in headphones) and learned about the m2tech hiface.


This is a super high quality USB to Coax out sound card. I am not sure if it just does stereo or 5.1. It is not a DAC -- you need a DAC + AMP to drive headphones or speakers. But it uses an internal clock to overcome the normal limitations of USB audio to allow for 24-bit 192khz sound. I don't have one, but according to the guys who do, it is a stunning setup, if you hook it up to the right final outputs.


It does "bit perfect" output to a DAC that can handle 24-bit 192.


A similar product that is considered *slightly* less amazing but still awesome is the Musiland 01 and Musiland 02. The 02 has a DAC and headphone amp built into it.


Cheers

 

[PooperScooper]

I don't know how you can guarantee "bit perfect" output via S/PDIF. And to do the most with jitter reduction with S/PDIF the "smarts" need to be on the target end. You might be better off just using USB out to a DAC. "Vanilla" USB output can be problematic because the clocking has to be recovered from the input (just like S/PDIF). However there are some USB solutions that can reduce jitter problems and with asynchronous USB clocking for the DAC does not rely on the input stream at all.


larry