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Beyond clock stabilization and the ability to resample at the hardware level, the Digital Interface is a USB-S/PDIF interface, and as such brings a rather noticeable improvement in sound quality vs. going straight from a computer's USB port directly to the Tenor USB receiver chip in the DAC. If you gave me a choice between an NFB-3 with a Digitial Interface or an NFB-2 without one, I would not hesitate to opt for the former. The power supply implementation and component quality of the NFB-2 offer an "on paper" superiority to the NFB-3, but the Digital Interface going into the S/PDIF coaxial input of either unit will provide a clearly audible improvement in sound quality. Of course, a "DI" as they are called along with an NFB-2 would be the better combination. The debate rages over how much of an improvement the independent power supply for the Digital Interface that Kingwa designed largely as a response to consumer demand actually makes on "SQ." A lot depends on how clean the USB power coming out of your computer is. But the DI itself will bring more than a "small benefit" to anybody compared to using the USB input on any DAC.