Adam84

Paul, thanks again! After doing some research on the net and my audio specialist in The Netherlands, I am fully convinced that buying an USB to SPDIF Converter is the right step to take, so no sound card for me after all. My audio specialist put me in contact with one of his contacts. This guy adores Rega - also sells it, may have some influence, but seems to be very reliable - and he also has a lot of experience with the Rega DAC. He tested several of these converters and his experience is that the Rega DAC works best - and by far -with the Audiophilleo 2 USB to SPDIF converter. The thing here is that these USB to SPDIF converters are apparently not very known in Amsterdam - in a wellknown HiFi store they did not even know what it is and does - so there do not seem to be any possibilities to test several USB to PSDIF converters. So if I want to buy an USB to SPDIF converter, I have to trust the opinion of others. Due to the experience of the guy who suggested the Audiophilleo 2 converter, I think the Audiophilleo 2 is the best option, althhough expensive (EUR 400-500). Since it seems that you have a lot of knowledge about the Rega DAC, I am very curious what your thoughts are. Regards, Adam84

Hi Paul, many thanks for the quick reply. The manual indeed states that the USB-connection leads to the less capable connection (noted that after the installation, a little silly of me) and I was already planning to connect the desktop and the DAC by a S/PDIF or Co-Axial cable. It seems that the motherboard of my desktop has a S/PDIF output, so - strictly speaking - there is no need for the USB to S/PDIF converter. However, I still have no clue whether the above step (connecting the desktop and DAC through S/PDIF) would provide the DAC with the best sample rate and whether a sound card would still add value to the installation and the bit rate. Based on the information in the manual I would say it does, but I am not completely sure. And in case a sound card does add value, would each 24-bit 192 kHz sound card be good or should I buy a exclusive and expensive one? Regards, Adam84

Hi guys, First of all I wish to say hi from Amsterdam. A couple of months ago I bought the beautiful Rega DAC. This DAC is connected through USB to my desktop in order to listen to, amonsgt others, streamed music. I understood that a DAC converts the digital audio signal into an analogue signal and that it therefore takes over all the task of a sound card in my desktop. For that reason it was my understanding that a sound card is not needed in my case because the DAC does all the work. However, after reading the manual from the DAC again, I understand that the DAC relies heavily on the quality of the digital audio signal which is transferred from the desktop to the DAC. In the manual it is described as follows: "The Rega DAC can operate at 192 kHz when used with capable soundcard connected via the Co-axial or optical input (...). Some PC/laptop or disc players are only capable of a maximum sample rate of 48kHz) So I am now wondering whether I have to buy a sound card in order to provide the DAC with the best possible digital audio signal. In the current situation, the DAC only gets provided with a 44.1-48 kHz signal which is by far not the DAC's maximum of 192 kHz. I noticed that there are several (expensive) sound cards on the market and I have the following questions: - Do I indeed need a sound card in order to get the maximum performance out of the DAC? - If yes, would each 24-bit 192 kHz sound card be good for the job or is it be wise to buy an exclusive - and expensive - one? - How do I know whether my desktop would be capable of a sample rate of 192 kHz or does this solely depend on the quality of the sound card? I really hope someone could help me with my questions and could give me further insight in the way the DAC in relation to the desktop works. Regards, Adam84