Hello, new to the forum, but what a fantastic website. I'm typically over at the Head-Fi or Hardforum forums.
So, there is a noticeable difference between connecting the Nova directly to my computer via USB versus going through my current X-FI sound card (soon to be the Xonar once it arrives). I get much more body and bass through the X-FI, but often the attack in some songs gets muddied compared to connecting via USB.
In other words USB seems to be less powerful but more transparency and separation. And X-FI to Nova seems to have much more authority and power but can have trouble keeping up with some songs in terms of separation, transparency and clarity.
I read a very nice review on this site of the Peachtree Nova, which persuaded me to buy it. The author said the best combo according to his ears was the Win 7 system > Xonar >Coax > Nova.
So my very long winded question:
Does this bypass the Nova's DAC and is the chain using the Xonar's DAC? Or how does it work?
Thanks.
-Marty