which connection

[gregorio]

Yep, you've got it. There is absolutely no need for expensive digital cable, it won't make any difference.

Oublie - That's right, if you are bypassing the DAC circuitry in your soundcard, there doesn't seem much point in splashing out for a high quality soundcard. So long as your soundcard is reasonable enough quality to output digital audio accurately that is.

[Chri5peed]

Yep, essentially an external Amp/DAC is doing what a soundcard would do.

You're essentially ejecting audio files from your computer as they are stored on your HDD[use ASIO/Kernel-streaming].

I've a Juli@ soundcard from prior listening.