Individual components do allow maximizing the quality at every step of the output, however, I'm wondering whether the decay in signal due to interconnects etc detracts enough that a single interface, even at a lower price point, may be better?
My situation: [emu 1212m pci soundcard] > [zu ash aes/spdif cable] > [zhaolu dac] > [headphone amp]
vs $300 usb dac/amp like a iBasso?
