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Schiit Ragnarok 2 (Fully-Loaded) / Digital USB input / No optical

Greetings All, I've just received my new Ragnarok 2 and am excited to set it up later this week. I didn't realize until after I ordered the R2 "fully-loaded" that the internal DAC card requires a USB input. My mistake obviously. This was surprising since almost all of the Schiit DACs are equipped with Toslink/Optical inputs. This currently puts me in a pickle because in addition to playing vinyl, I like to stream lossless files from my Mac to an Airport Express utilizing it's optical output. I haven't found a device / adapter to convert an optical audio signal to a USB, so I may be forced to use an external DAC rendering my purchase of the R2's internal DAC pointless. I may decide to exchange this fully loaded R2 to the "Just an Amp" version, but prefer an all in one box solution since our space is limited. Any thoughts, suggestions etc are most welcome. I have 14 of 15 days left with Schiit's return/exchange policy. 
cbob
ghasley
2,487 posts
 
Before you get too concerned, why don't you do a direct connection from your Mac to the usb input of the Ragnarok 2. This will give you an idea if the sound is worth chasing or if you should consider an external dac. Another option is if you have a home network, you might consider a Raspberry pi or Allo to render from the network to usb. The dac inside your Schiit for that kind of money is probably ok but not worth chasing with too much money.
cbob OP
9 posts
 
Thank you ghasley! Now I'm leaning toward simply re-ordering the R2 barebones and use the DAC I've been using until I upgrade after everything has burned in. I've been considering a Modi or BitFrost Multibit which must be superior to the internal DAC of the R2.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
cbob, Airport Express, that I use with Benchmark DAC3, has some small jitter (280ps) and optical connection, that is prone to convert system noise into jitter.  USB interface, as long as it is asynchronous, doesn't have this problem but might inject some noise (hence jitter) into DAC by direct connection to computer.  Hard to tell which is better.  I have both available, but decided to stay with AE because my computer is located on the opposite wall.  If you decide to return and get separate DAC you might possibly get jitter suppressing DAC or insert reclocker before DAC.
cbob OP
9 posts
 
Thx kijanki! much appreciated. I've heard back from Schiit and it sounds like they'll be setting up an RA so I can reorder the amp alone. I've always wondered how much jitter is introduced via Airport Express, but the convenience factor was enough to keep me from delving further. When I pull the trigger on a DAC upgrade I'll explore more... 
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