toschek
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2013
- Posts
- 533
- Likes
- 20
markm1, if you already have the Sonos setup, I can see why you would want to do the external DAC. External DACs, especially a well-respected one like Bifrost, are typically much better than those in the streamers. I use an external DAC with my primary Squeezebox. What would you be using for a HP amp? My only question about your setup is how you would feed both a HP amp and your receiver from the Bifrost, or are you using the receiver as the HP amp? If your receiver has an analog output you could probably go analog out from the receiver to your HP amp without any real issue (assuming the receiver doesn't totally suck!).
As for PC-Bifrost-receiver, that would work if you have the Bifrost's USB module. Lots of considerations there (like music software, setup, and support for asynchronous USB connections or high resolution music files), so you'll have to do some more research into the specifics. The short answer is that people do use the Bifrost as a USB DAC.
You only need the USB module if your PC lacks an S/PDIF or Toslink output. If you have one of those, skip the USB option and save yourself $100. The USB section is somewhat inferior to the coax and optical inputs IMO. I have experienced artifacts in the output with USB on the PC and Mac so it's not just my setup.