[Mink]

Hi,
Would this be a good solution for (arguably only marginally ) better sound?
Anyone has/had experience with USB to Optical connection? Or with this Chinese brand?

In my experience connections via coaxial sound just a tab better than via USB. I have never tried optical though, but the consensus on this forum and other audio related forums is that optical is also better than USB. And this Chinese cable is the most affordable and sleek solution I have found in avoiding USB A to USB B connection.

I will use this cable to connect my laptop to the Marantz HD-DAC1 or the Audio GD R2R 11.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002265431110.html

 

[msing539]

There are also USB to Optical/Coaxial converter boxes, like this one from SMSL: https://www.amazon.com/PO100-Digital-Interface-Optical-Converter/dp/B09W5R6Q2V

No experience with them personally, though, and certainly not as sleek as one cable. But this seems to have a clock.

 

[Mink]

Thanks! That would be the better option. True, I hardly listen to hi-res music, almost exclusively to 16 bit 44.1 Khz files, but for those rare instances I stumble upon music with a higher bitrate (when using the Marantz that is, the Audio GD is a NOS DAC) a coaxial connection would be better than optical since it is supposed to handle hi-res file better.
I already found a unit online.

 

[msing539]

Thanks! That would be the better option. True, I hardly listen to hi-res music, almost exclusively to 16 bit 44.1 Khz files, but for those rare instances I stumble upon music with a higher bitrate (when using the Marantz that is, the Audio GD is a NOS DAC) a coaxial connection would be better than optical since it is supposed to handle hi-res file better.
I already found a unit online.

Nice! I use an Iris DDC which only has USB in, but I'm curious how your setup turns out.

 

[Mink]

Nice! I use an Iris DDC which only has USB in, but I'm curious how your setup turns out.

It works like a charm. I have connected my laptop to both Marantz HD-DAC1 (via Coax) and Audio GD R2R 11 (via Optical) via this SMSL converter.
No more occasional pop and clicks and a slight cleaner and more spacious sound (compared to USB) The differences in sound between my Marantz and Audio GD are subtler than ever.
One thing to complain about, this tiny unit weighs almost nothing, my cables are heavier.
I'll leave it at that, because this message board is dedicated to cables.

 

[msing539]

Thanks for the perspective on it. I was also getting pops and clicks, even with the Iris, but USB is the only input option on it.

In my case, source is an Asus ROG Ryzen Laptop, and the pops and clicks were resolved with an updated AMD driver. If I ever go straight into the DAC, I might look to a solution like this.