Are most DAC's compatible w computers?

To Jax - I agree with you. But you know I am amazed by this Rankin fellow. At your recommendation, I read his website again - especially the following:

"On power up of the computer the 2 devices negotiate services... Since the USB receiver only has to handle these 3 frequencies, the clocking to the separate DAC IC has almost no jitter... Therefore the jitter problems of SPDIF almost go away using USB."

I did pass Logic and this ain't it. All this says is what we know, USB does not introduce jitter when transporting the signal from the PC to a device. Of course if I was going to charge $14K+ for a USB DAC I would be working hard to think of a good benefits statement too!

Pardales this is the real reason you might want to consider a USB DAC - because it eliminates the chance that the SPDIF from the Waveterminal to the DAC could introduce some error. Simple is most often better - getting rid of cables and connectors usually is. Plus you eliminate the cost of the Waveterminal and a good to great SPDIF cable... One reason I upgraded to a G5 is to run Toslink directly from the computer to the DAC - still evaluating but its pretty impressive with the Wireworld 5 Supernova

Please note that nowhere does Rankin say that there is any kind of error correction of the audio data during playback... I keep reading and hearing from people that think this is what is happening and I am puzzled as to how this got started.

And contrary to his site, there is most definitely a USB 2 standard which is why there are a billion plus USB devices worldwide -

Folks - you do not need to spend this kind of money to get awesome sound from your hard drive - you just need to sweat a few simple details, like anything else in our hobby. This is truly high end for the rest of us...

One last thought - if you have a G5 or a PC that supports SATA I strongly suggest you use it instead of Firewire to connect your external hard drive(s). It is vastly, infinitely, amazingly more robust and not a bit more expensive. Hard drives from the usual suspects at the usual places at ridiculous prices. Instant set up, you no longer even have to set jumpers.

Savvy vendors in this space with helpful websites are granitedigital.com and macgurus.com. You will be absolutely delighted

Ckorody - Thanks for your point of view. Don't get me wrong, I was certainly not recommending (or discouraging) that anyone go out and spend $14K on a USB DAC. I'm not sure where you are getting that price. The two USB DAC's Wavelength offers are the Cosecant at $3500, and the Brick at $1750. Both are tube-buffered USB DACs. The only reason I pointed to the site was for the explanation of the two-way nature of the USB interface. I've never heard any of their products. Should you care to take your puzzlement directly to the source I believe Gordon Rankin is a frequent contributor over at AudioAsylum you could publicly ask him yourself there, or, of course, send him an email. It does make sense to me (obviously)...if there the information is going just one way there is no reference point to the accuracy of delivery from the origin. If two way the device has the potential to check the accuracy of the origin and adjust (buffer) accordingly. It sure seems logical to me. I completely agree that you do not need to spend a ton of money on this technology to get very rewarding results. Thanks for the links too!

Another note as an addendum to your post: The Waveterminal does utilize an internal clocking device. The feed from computer to Waveterminal is indeed USB. From there you can go via either SPDIF or Toslink to your DAC. I've done no comparisons to a USB DAC, but compared to my Muse transport hooked up to the Muse DAC via their proprietary connector (optimal for those two units). FWIW I cannot tell the difference between a CD on the transport and the signal delivered from the hard drive via the Waveterminal (either in Apple Lossless or WAV), at least in the system as it is hooked up in my home right now (currently at somewhat of a compramise in room treatment). I'll be curious to do the same test in my main system, which is currently not set up due to a renovation.

Marco

Thanks, Ckorody. You are right that a USB DAC would be a simpler path than adding a DAC via the Waveterminal. Are there any other USB DAC's worth considering besides the Apogee (without breaking the bank)? Thanks,

Good stuff.. thanks to all.

I just figured out that I can get lots of great radio through my computer as well. I can now sell my changer and tuner if I want. I am thinking about putting my money towards a really good DAC since my computer is turning out to be the heart of my system. Now that I have ripped my 500 cd's to computer, and have all the album artwork loaded as well, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. I am rediscovering my music collection and listening to stuff I haven't listened to for years. It would not surpise me if we begin to see a lot of USB DAC's on the market very soon.