SouthernMan

Hi, I see that the U12 has been used in concert with a Synology DiskStation, with a sotm SMS100 streamer in between the 2 devices. Does anyone know or could someone suggest whether or not the Gustard U12 could be connected directly to a Synology DS415+? While I've found a couple references to the U12 and linux (some say doesn't work, some say does), I've found nothing about connecting the U12 to the Diskstation's USB output. THANKS

Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses. To clarify the financial constraints, I can bear $0-200 in the short-term and $200-600 in the year. It seems to me the choices in DACs are broad and require a lot more research on my part, but the price range is outside my near-term level. So, in the short-term it's either hiface (or a better converter alternative) or nothing. And, assuming I will get a DAC at some point, I would prefer not to invest in equipment I will throwaway. I was pleased to hear from another CA poster who is successfully running hiface with Pure Vinyl on the Mac, so I expect Pure Music should work as well - even though m2tech only lists iTunes compatibility for the Mac. bsn, could you help me understand: "I also wonder about the value of the hiFace if it is going to be feeding one of the newer up-sampling DACs. Aren't the newer DACs just going to re-clock the input signal anyway? If so, the end result is going to resemble the jitter of the DACs own re-clocking circuit and not that of the hiFace."

I'm a first-time poster with probably a pretty simple question. First, I'd like to note that I've found this site extraordinarily helpful driven largely by the deep knowledge of its contributors. I've thoroughly enjoyed coming up to speed here on the latest computer audiophilia. I've recently acquired some "vintage" high-end consumer-grade equipment: Denon AVR-5700 (140 wpc, Denon's "flagship" AVR 10 years ago) and JBL L5 floorstanding speakers (http://j.mp/dpCLYd). My initial attempt at computer audio has produced reasonable results by connecting one of the AVR's Toslink inputs directly to the output from my MacBook Pro with a low-end optical cable (from monoprice.com). Compared to my previous setup, the sound is very full and enjoyable. I also have a dual-boot pc with OS X and XP Pro available (with Realtek ALC889A audio). Given the limitations of these components, I would like to optimize the sound they produce. But I'm concerned about throwing good money after bad; i.e., if these are not audiophile-grade components, then it probably doesn't make sense to insert an audiophile-grade DAC. Until I can afford a more substantial upgrade, in the near-term I'm considering a few incremental enhancements: 1) PC-to-S/PDIF converter 2) cables 3) DAC. My main question is, for the very near-term, should I expect adding something like m2tech Hiface will notably improve the sound of the current system without adding an external DAC? Note the Denon uses the Burr-Brown PCM1704 DAC chips. I understand that the hiface would reduce the jitter that is probably present in my system, but would the other parts of my system limit the benefits? Thank you -