[Alcophone]

Thanks for the writeup, weirdly I have always heard good things about focusrite, my musician friend swears by them

Maybe it's fine with Macs, and 192 kHz isn't too common I suppose. Just doesn't work well for my use case (Windows, trying to verify that gear is bit perfect at 24/192). The one in the bundle you posted is a 3rd gen, so maybe that's better.

Others have reported stability issues as well and recommend RME instead. That's where I would go next, but I don't have personal experience yet.

Do you NEED an interface, i.e. something with an ADC / digital input or would a pure DAC or DAC/preamp combo suffice?

 

[Pumpo]

I don't need inputs, audio interfaces are just a convenient way to have speaker outputs imo, Id go for an amp/dac but they seem to be more expensive overall

 

[Alcophone]

I don't need inputs, audio interfaces are just a convenient way to have speaker outputs imo, Id go for an amp/dac but they seem to be more expensive overall

Makes sense.
I've played with the iFi ZEN DAC Signature as a DAC with a physical volume control, but I find it limiting when a DAC has only a USB input.
The Topping E30 has USB, Coax, TOSLINK and you can control the volume with a remote, but not on the device, which is not ideal.
There's also the option of using a Schiit SYS as a volume control for any pure DAC that doesn't have volume control, but then there's no remote control.

 

[Pumpo]

Makes sense.
I've played with the iFi ZEN DAC Signature as a DAC with a physical volume control, but I find it limiting when a DAC has only a USB input.
The Topping E30 has USB, Coax, TOSLINK and you can control the volume with a remote, but not on the device, which is not ideal.
There's also the option of using a Schiit SYS as a volume control for any pure DAC that doesn't have volume control, but then there's no remote control.

Ill be using it at my desk so a remote is not of importance, unless it actually just makes the experience that much better

 

[Alcophone]

Ill be using it at my desk so a remote is not of importance, unless it actually just makes the experience that much better

Nah, only when it's not in reach.
Nothing beats a big, juicy volume knob.