Innuos Pulse Incoming

Hi , I have the Pulse Mini with a LPS into a Yiggy with the newest USB card. As said above you will have  to decide which clock to utilize. I went with the USB, but you have the MAC. Maybe check online with the Cable Company as they offer advice and have a library you can rent from. For me I went with a Wire World Starlight Platinum USB. When I want a softer presentation I use a Cardas Clear. Happy Hunting , Mike 

On my Pulse I find the USB connection to sound the best. It may depend on the cable you use for each connection though. I have a great digital coax cable and tried many USB cables (all under $300). I liked the Analysis Plus Purple Plus the best.

On the connection questions the best thing if you can is to try each and see which sounds best. On the ethernet question I was astonished at the great sound I got from Bluejeans ethernet cables for all of $17 for 1M.

S/PDIF

Overview

S/PDIF, or Sony/Philips Digital Interface, is a standard for transmitting digital audio between devices like TVs, CD players, and amplifiers. It's a uni-directional format that supports compressed surround sound and uncompressed stereo audio. S/PDIF is known for its high fidelity and better sound reproduction because it doesn't add noise to the audio signal. It can carry two channels of uncompressed PCM audio or compressed 5.1/7.1 surround sound like Dolby Digital or DTS. 

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Yes your coax is an S/PDIF along with your optical out. 
my guess is you’re gonna go on a USB cable search but then that’s just my guess enjoy

Thanks for all responses so far.   Can anyone explain what a S/PDIF is, was told it was digital coax.   I have a Coax cable now that attaches Bluesound to Mac, but it soesnt say anything about S/PDIF in it.  
 

Hopefully now this adds another voice to the argument of why one would want to upgrade from blue sound. 
she is a beautiful machine and loves having fancy dangling things coming off her back end.

I am currently using synergistic research foundation, SX power cable, Audio quest, carbon AES, DJ labs ethernet cable. 

was gonna say hopefully you’re going to enjoy, but that is not necessary.

Hello @john1629 ,  Yes, different DAC / Streamer combos work better with coax vs USB.  As correctly @oddiofyl said, the USB is not affected by the streamer clock, so it will use the DAC clock (or outboard clock).  AES or Coax uses the streamer clock, and may be limited on DSD files.  Try both.  But here is the thing; a good Coax cable may beat an average USB cable and visa versa, independent of which TYPE of cable is really better suited.  I have personally experienced this.   Congrats on the Innuos.it's a nice upgrade!

The 8950 DAC is a really good sounding DAC.   I would try it via Coax and USB and see which you prefer.  With USB the McIntosh DAC uses it's clock , with Coax the Mac uses the source clock.    No right or wrong way,  may or may not be a difference.     Enjoy 

I have a slightly different setup (Innuos Pulsar, McIntosh C55) and I’ve been very pleased with the USB connection.  
I’m using an Audioquest Vodka Ethernet cable. Galen Carol has a couple of used ones on his web site at gcaudio.com. 

@john1629 - Congrats on the Innuos Pulse. I have an Innuos ZENith mkii I’ve been happy with. Can’t help with question regarding connecting to your McIntosh. For Ethernet, I use the Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy CryoSilver cable. It came highly recommended from a dealer I’ve worked with.