Here's the link for the AyreWave software :
http://sbooth.org/AyreWave/
(IÂm afraid youÂll have to copy and paste that into your browser. Agon keeps telling me my url tags donÂt match, even though IÂve copied and pasted them from their guide page.)
Tim, if you're hearing less than bit-perfect Redbook from iTunes, it may be the playback. Pure Music sounds much better, and I am told AyreWave sounds better still. Unfortunately I can't test it myself without buying a new computer >:o[
Anyone who wants to find out about this for themselves should download either AyreWave or the free Pure Music demo.
Marco, USB 2.0 is limited to 16/48 in stock form. Specially-written drivers can take it up to 24/96, as was the case with my old M-Audio Audiophile's playback software, for example. USB 3.0 is probably more capable but note that both devices have to have the USB 3.0 connector. If there's a 2.0 bottleneck anywhere, the link drops down to 2.0 performance.
One think I've found with USB (and FireWire) is that cable quality makes a difference to sound quality.
Another thing--if you have 5 MHz capacity on your WiFi network, use it instead of 2.4 MHz, for better sound.
Tpy, Pure Music is simplicity itself. You download the demo and the first time you launch it, it will find your iTunes library. Thenceforth you can either launch iTunes or Pure Music, but you will want the latter.
However AyreWave has the advantage of being free. Pure Music is free for only two weeks.