[thund3rstruck]

Long story short, I want to play my PlayStation 3 on a PC monitor that has no headphones output and the game system only supports digital audio (S/PDIF) output. I'm not going to buy yet another pair of headphones just for gaming when I've already got several high end headphones already (I'm not an audiophile so I consider my $350 Denon 2Ks as high-end ). Anyways, I decided on the Topping TP-D2 Headphones Amplifier to solve this problem. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GJ2SK4/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item)
 
When I'm not gaming (which is most of the time) I intend on using the DAC with my computer. I currently have a FiiO E-7 USB DAC that I love, but it is USB only so I was planning on retiring it and replacing it with this new amp.
 
My question is this, will I get a higher quality sound if I connect my sound card SPDIF output into the amp as opposed to connecting it through USB? Does USB V3 offer improvement over USB V1.1 or USB V2.0?

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Long story short, I want to play my PlayStation 3 on a PC monitor that has no headphones output and the game system only supports digital audio (S/PDIF) output. I'm not going to buy yet another pair of headphones just for gaming when I've already got several high end headphones already (I'm not an audiophile so I consider my $350 Denon 2Ks as high-end ). Anyways, I decided on the Topping TP-D2 Headphones Amplifier to solve this problem. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GJ2SK4/ref=pe_385040_30332200_TE_item)
 
When I'm not gaming (which is most of the time) I intend on using the DAC with my computer. I currently have a FiiO E-7 USB DAC that I love, but it is USB only so I was planning on retiring it and replacing it with this new amp.
 
My question is this, will I get a higher quality sound if I connect my sound card S/PDIF output into the amp as opposed to connecting it through USB? Does USB V3 offer improvement over USB V1.1 or USB V2.0?

 
I'm going to guess the Topping sounds about the same, using S/PDIF or USB.
S/PDIF (Optical & coaxial) will allow you to use PC sound card features (like headphone surround sound)
USB is a little easier to connect, but bypasses the PC sound card features, so you get 2-channel stereo audio.

 

[dizzyorange]

SPDIF and USB can sound drastically different or the same depending on the gear.  There is no "better".  Just listen to both and decide which you like better.

 

[thund3rstruck]

  There is no "better".  Just listen to both and decide which you like better.

Ok, I thought I read earlier that there was some flaw in the algorithm used by most PC's when emitting sound over USB which made it inferior when compared to a pure digital signal from optical out.
 
I'll just continue to use USB then, since its a pain in the ass to get to the back of this PC.
 
Thanks!

 

[PurpleAngel]

  Ok, I thought I read earlier that there was some flaw in the algorithm used by most PC's when emitting sound over USB which made it inferior when compared to a pure digital signal from optical out.
I'll just continue to use USB then, since its a pain in the ass to get to the back of this PC.

 
I guess there are "discussions" on USB vs optical vs coaxial
For people that just want good music audio, USB makes it simple.
I believe Schiit recommends coaxial>optical>USB.
Where as my Audio-GD NFB-15.32 external DAC/Amp comes with 32-bit/384K USB interface, so for music, USB is recommended over S/PDIF (optical/coaxial).

 

[imeem]

if you r doing any gaming on pc, especially fps, you will want to use optical/coaxial. 

 

[thund3rstruck]

  if you r doing any gaming on pc, especially fps, you will want to use optical/coaxial. 

 
The Topping D2 DAC came in the day before yesterday. I hooked it up over Coaxial connection and I really couldn't tell any difference between this one and the FiiO USB amp using my Denon 2Ks, which is fine since I bought this one for the extra inputs (so I could have headphones for my PS3).
 
One thing I do miss; the FiiO had digital Bass, Bass Boost, and Treble controls and this topping amp doesn't have any level/EQ controls at all so that means I have to do any equalization in software. My RealTek HD audio device uses Sound Blaster Cinema, which is ridiculously simple but not very effective. Can anyone recommend a software EQ for Windows 8? I found an EQ on SourceForge but it required a degree in rocket science just to figure out how to do anything with it

 

[imeem]

   
The Topping D2 DAC came in the day before yesterday. I hooked it up over Coaxial connection and I really couldn't tell any difference between this one and the FiiO USB amp using my Denon 2Ks, which is fine since I bought this one for the extra inputs (so I could have headphones for my PS3).
 
 

for me, the difference was the sound positioning. with optical, it was a bit easier to tell where the sound was coming from. For example, gunshots and jet fly-bys in BF 3