AppleTV work with USB DAC?

Mingles- using an Ipod Touch or IPhone you simply use Apple Remote to run the music, and it's a beautiful and simple interface. And the Apple Remote app is free as well.

Wow the AppleTV has a fan? I didn't know that. I only saw
it at the Apple store and I really liked the small size and
of course the killer GUI.

I was reading that the AppleTV can be hacked to the point
where you could install a full version of OS X. Somehow
I was figuring if the USB could be enabled for USB harddisks
then the next step would be to copy over Audio Midi Setup,
start it up, and then select the USB port for Audio output.

Gherrera1: I will have to check into that capacitor mod
on the AppleTV. We emailed a year ago when I bought my
Krell 400xi and SACD3. You were considering the AppleTV
or MacMini back then.. I guess you picked the AppleTV..

Has anyone tested various glass Toslink cables to find
out which one sounds best with the AppleTV ?? The 3
Toslink cables mentioned often seem to be:

Van Den Hul Optocoupler
Wireworld Super Nova 5
AudioQuest Optilink-5

I don't believe he atv has a fan. He is probably hearing the hard drive spooling down.

You're probably right, it might be the hard drive. Would be interesting if a SSD was put in. I recently resolved most of the performance issues by moving away from a NAS and installing a larger drive in my iMac, mirrored using SuperDuper, but that's another story, but since I know my ATV is fine, I probably won't be looking at replacing it.

In terms of the output, even if USB could be used, it seems like there are a lot of debates on the quality and implementation. Maybe you can look at just getting the best out of the Toslink. A reclocker like the Pace Car might be an option. One thing that I'm really curious about is the Altmann UPCI (Ultra Precision Clock Injector).