Apple 24 Bit 96 KhZ

Yes you can. Most USB solutions do not support 96/24, but some do. Audio Midi will tell you when it recognizes the device. Toslink does support 96/24 if your DAC does.

The thing that's a bit frustrating is that you ideally want Audio Midi set to a lower sampling rate (24 bit is okay, however) when you playback redbook CD files. You don't have to, but I think the sound quality is better (not everyone agrees). Which means going back into Audio Midi to change that setting and then, if you are using iTunes, closing and reopening iTunes to make sure it adopts the new settings. I am hopeful that Apple or someone will make these steps unnecessary with a future software upgrade.

Good to know, thanks.

It's not as simple as one interface being better than another. There is a lot going in with computer audio and there are good and bad solutions for both. If you already have a good DAC with Toslink input, my recommendation is to start there. Get a good Toslink cable, such as the Wireworld (you'll need an adapter for the mini Toslink jack on the Mac) or the van den Hul, which you can get with a mini Toslink on one end. If your DAC has a USB input, odds are it sucks. To get good USB, you need one of the specialty USB DACs or one of the speciality converters (converts USB to other interfaces), such as those from Bel Canto and Empirical Audio.

In my experience, there are no clearcut answers in computer audio (heck, in audio in general). I recommend experimenting, if that interests you.