USB as a transport medium?

[eeinc]

Greetings all,

 

I am looking for a reasonable DAC ($1000-$2000 range) to connect my PC (64bit Vista) to my entry level hifi system (Denon DRA-CX3 / Splendor S5e). I have 2 easy option on my PC: 1.USB; 2.Firewire.

 

Is the use of USB as the transport medium between my PC and amp the correct choice?

And if anyone so cares to offer a DAC I should look at - fire away!

Particularily a DAC that could accept HDMI as an input and output.

 

Cheers,

Ray

 

PS: this looks to be a promising website. Kudos to the owner.

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Ray - First, welcome to Computer Audiophile and thanks for the kind words about the site. USB can certainly be a great choice to connect your PC to your DAC. Well implemented USB interfaces are really nice. Firewire is also just as good provided it's implemented as well as the USB interface. Neither one is better than the other in my opinion. There are many DACs to chose from in the $1-$2K range. At the top of that range is the Bryston BDA-1 which I reviewed a short time ago. Also take a look at PS Audio, Benchmark, and Wavelength Audio for some options.

 

HDMI input and output is going to be tough. PS Audio has new products coming out that use HDMI cables, but the in/ouputs are I2S.