best way to connect pc to dac


I currently stream TIDAL from a windows laptop that is connected to a Brooklyn DAC with an entry level Kimber USB cable then to my preamp with Kimber Heros.

Are there better solutions? I only have USB ports on my laptop. 

thanks for your knowledge...
mswobo
I don’t know about the Node 2 but I can tell you that the sound coming from my Sonos vía coax to a Hegel 25 sounds terrible compared to my iMac via usb to the Hegel. 
I'm using a Mytek Brooklyn to stream Tidal.  I've tried multiple USB cables in a blind test and found HUGE differences between them. Image was the biggest impact.  The one I use is custom made so that's not going to help you much but it's OCC Silver.  Big investment but worth every penny.  I encourage you to research hi end USB's... 
I had a similar set-up..I sold my Dac and went with the OPPO Sonica streamer DAC. It sounds great streaming via wifi. I also have it hooked
via USB but I think it sounds better via wifi.

Ethernet or WiFi. Get a stand-alone interface, DAC or server with Ethernet interface, either a DLNA endpoint or a Roon RAAT endpoint.

Best SQ I have found is using Twonky or Minimserver using Linn Kinsky to a DLNA endpoint. I have designed 6 generations of USB interfaces and Ethernet is better. Here is a recent comparison I did:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=155232.0

You can use any computer, Mac or PC to stream to a DLNA endpoint.

You can also get Roon Ready endoint devices and stream to them from Roon software.

If you don’t mind a little DIY, you can get a Raspberry Pi board and a SD memory card on Amazon.com and a Digione Hat board and have a DLNA or Roon endpoint in an afternoon for about $150. Everything you need to know is online. This will output S/PDIF to your DAC.

If no DIY talent, then get a Sonos Connect and a Synchro-Mesh reclocker to drive low-jitter S/PDIF to your DAC. You can use Roon, Twonky, Minimserver, Sonos and other software to stream your music to the Sonos.  you can stream Tidal too.


Steve N.

Empirical Audio

You don’t get noise from a usb cable. You get 1s and 0s. Unless the noise is encoded it doesn’t get decoded.  Digital to digital works or doesn’t.