Apogee Mini DAC: Connection questions

hi dshea,
for some reason my mini dac sounds better with usb and optical (typical portable cd player) than spdif (dell laptop out, foobar resample to 48000Hz, vh audio pulsar with wbt nextgen copper). spdif gives a less focused sound. not night and day, but noticeable. usb and optical sound the same (identical song used).

dshea:

i just did a quick test with my headphones, i think the line out had a less next-to-your-ears feel plus a slightly clearer sound across the board than the headphones out (can be inaccurate, take it with a grain of salt). the line out can drive the sennheisers to louder-than-normal volume level as well.

i am using an aftermarket elpac medical power supply plus a running springs haley power conditioner with my mini dac (power cords are DIY vh audio flavor 4 with wattgate/furutech gold plugs). the elpac power supply gives a more holographic sound with better transparency than the stock.

i can be usually found around a'gon and a'asylum these days. never miss headfi, its fascist administration and site sponsored shilling one bit.

hugo

i am using a dynahi with my mini-dac, a properly built dynahi sounds way better than driving the 650s with the balanced out.

skip the usb option if you don't really need to use it with your computer.