[musicbased]

Hello.
 
I have a coax input on my dac, but only an optical or usb output on my mac...
 
So i'm wondering, which is better, USB to coax converter, or optical to coax converter?
 
Optical to coax is much cheaper, so i guess usb to coax must be better in some way??
 
Anone able to help?
 
Thanks!

 

[RubberBootz]

I'm not sure mate, but just remember you also need to suss sampling rates!

 

[Coltrane]

I could be wrong, but I think USB to Coax is more difficult to implement as it is not simply an audio out but a digital data feed. As a result it is more expensive. In no way is it 'better.'
 
Id go with optical to coax as it will do the job just as well.
 
As a sidenote, it is a dangerous thing to jump to the conclusion that more expensive equals better.

 

[TrollDragon]

As stated above...
 
One is almost a DAC in itself (USB to Coax), the other is just a media converter (Optical to Coax) which is what you need.
 
They come in two flavors, Optical to Coax and Coax to Optical make sure you get the right direction. Mac to DAC would be Optical to Coax. M-Audio also has a CO2 which is a dual bi-directional unit for quite a bit more.
 

 

[musicbased]

Thats great,thanks!
I will try the optical to coax converter then.

 
My 2 options at the moment are:
 
Mac USB out -Line6 UX2 audio interface  - Balanced analogue stereo out - Matrix M Stage.
 
Or:
 
Mac Optical out- Coaxial converter- Hifiman HM801 coax in- Line out - Matrix M Stage.
 
 
I have no idea which option will sound better!-(Still waiting for the M Stage)...

 

[TrollDragon]

That Line6 UX2 is a wicked looking little rig!
 
It has two balanced 1/4-inch line out so that will take some finesse to convert it over to unbalanced as the M Stage has regular stereo line in.
Either cable magic or hardware depending on how the UX2 is "Balanced", others will know a lot more about this than I do.
 
The HM801 will be just an easy cable connection.
 
As far as sound... I can't say.

 

[musicbased]

Oh no, I hadn't really thought about the whole balanced to unbalanced thing.Thanks for letting me know about that!
I will have to look into what cable i might need for that..

  lol.
I just wanted a headphone amp!