DSpeaker Anti Mode Dual Core 2.0 Room Correction

Using the usb input form your Macbook Pro will sound better than the using the optical out. The optical out will produce a lot of jitter, and you have the latest firmware with the asynchronous USB. I have tried my D/C with lesser transports and there was a very noticeable difference. The battery charger that you are using is OK, but not the best for battery use. It will give you a window at what a battery ps can do, but without it being capasitor filterd you will get some noise from the battery. I know this since I have tried it both ways, and a capasitor bank after the battery is a must.
Look into an IFi IUSB it will take your computer audio sound quality up a huge notch.
I have had my Dual Core since August and have played around with many of the different features. The measurement feature will really help in dialing in your room. There is somewhat of a learning curve with the Dual Core since there are so many features that will improve your sound quality.
I had a Buffalo 32s dac (ESS Saber 9018 chip) and at first didn't like the D/C dac, but after a month or so of comparison the 32s found a new home.
The Dual Core is one serious little machine that will make huge differences to the sound quality to any system. I had mine for four months before I got a call from Tim Ryan (Dspeaker US Distributor) and he spent an afternoon showing me how to better dial in my system. I thought I had good sound,and when we were done I had GREAT sound!

Rodge. Why do you need a USB power conditioner when the device is using an external power supply and not USB bus powered?

It's more about the power on the cable coming from the computer. When the signal enters into the IUSB it is separated from the power on the line, regenerated and then sent to the decoding devise. In this case it is the Dual core. Many users are very pleased with what it does, the sound is fuller and much better detailed. I don't currently own one, but I have had the privileged or hearing the difference of what one can do at a friends house. I'm on the list for the next shipment.

http://www.ifi-audio.com/en/iUSB.html

http://www.audiostream.com/content/ifi-iusbpower-taking-audioquest-draginfly-dac-notch

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2013/01/amr-ifi-iusbpower-review/

Enjoy,

R

Thanks Rodge. I may try that out. My conversations with Toni (engineer at DSpeaker) tell me that the USB cable should make absolutely no difference. Toni was emphatic about that as part of the asynchronous design. But of course, there are plenty of claims to the opposite in the world of asynchronous USB DACs.

Yeah, I had the same response from Tim Ryan about using my battery power supply. He was "perplexed" that the battery ps could sound better than the supplied wallwort. He said something about the wallwort's design being different than other wallwort power supplies....But in the end a few friends confirmed what I had heard, and the point was then moot.