[stratowhammy]

Hi, I was thinking about getting the Little Dot DAC (I or II, don't know, doesn't make a difference in this post) and I wanted to know if I'm using my macbook as the source which output is going to yield the best result, USB or the optical via mini SPDIF (my red lit headphone jack

)
 
Know, I know that the S/PDIF still relies on the sound card inside the machine, but am I actually using the external DAC or am I just sending an digital signal ... see, this is where I get turned around ... I know that the optical output is sending a digital signal, which means that clearly a DAC (digital analogue converter) has not been used, but I guess I'm wondering how much does the macbooks internals degrade the sound quality before I get it where its going?
 
I know that someone reading this is probably going to say to themselves "this boy sounds confused!" and thats because I am.  I read somewhere that the macbook has bit perfect output through the optical (I don't know if this only applies to the macbook pro, but I was pretty sure that the 'macbook' also has this feature). Someone with more knowhow and knowledge, please help!!!
 
I know that I have to set the frequency response internally for the signal being sent, and when I plug a dac in via usb I am setting the USB's frequency, not internally.  This is where my confusion arises.

 

[Roseval]

If you use SPDIF, it is the sound card taking care of generating the digital out.
If you use USB, the sound card is by passed.
In principle it doesn’t make any difference at all using SPDIF or USB as one protocol or another, both are capable to deliver the right bits to the DAC.
There might be differences in sound quality but this is not only a matter of the digital outs of your PC but also a matter of the quality of the digital ins at the DAC.
One type of connection might produce more jitter than the other.
 
However, if you use a DAC like the Little Dot having both optical and USB input, you can simply compare the two.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/Intro/SQ/USB_SPDIF.htm
 
 
Quote:

 I know that I have to set the frequency response internally for the signal being sent, and when I plug a dac in via usb I am setting the USB's frequency, not internally.

 
No, in both cases you have to set the sample rate.
The sample rate must match the capabilities of the DAC.