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USB Sound card recommendations

So here is where things get more complex. If i plug my mic adaptor dongle directly into the 10 meter usb cable and bypass the hub, the static is constant. The usb hub happens to be powered.

I thought TOSLINK was optical? An optical signal would experience less degradation over distance than usb?
Spdif is sort of optical but not really, same same but different. Toslink is pretty much same as a full on optical cable, so yeah toslink = optical from an audio perspective. Toslink > spdif
You will find more dacs with a toslink than a spdif, I cant recall seeing 1 in fact. To use toslink though you're likely going to need a standalone dac and then a standalone amp
 
But you're going to need a long ass toslink cable and your motherboard must have a port for it
 
Man. This is all making my brain hurt. I'm wondering if I usb dac/amp would work for me if the dac/amp has a separate power source.
 
So here is where things get more complex. If i plug my mic adaptor dongle directly into the 10 meter usb cable and bypass the hub, the static is constant. The usb hub happens to be powered. So anything over usb would most likely need to be powered on the peripheral side.
Ok, that makes sense. Then I agree, you will need something that has its own wall plug rather than a bus-powered thing. So the E10K is probably out. Although, question. Is your USB hub powered by one single USB connector or a Y-cable with two USB connectors (one for data, one for power)? One thing I have done before to solve an issue with a hub losing power, is use a Y-cable, plug the data one into the PC, and the power one into a phone charger plugged into the wall. That may solve your static issue.

I thought TOSLINK was optical? An optical signal would experience less degradation over distance than usb?
Spdif is sort of optical but not really, same same but different. Toslink is pretty much same as a full on optical cable, so yeah toslink = optical from an audio perspective. Toslink > spdif
You will find more dacs with a toslink than a spdif, I cant recall seeing 1 in fact. To use toslink though you're likely going to need a standalone dac and then a standalone amp
But you're going to need a long ass toslink cable and your motherboard must have a port for it

You guys are mixing things up.

SPDIF is the standard of digital audio output. It can be carried by a variety of cables/connectors. The two common ones are coaxial (the round connector that looks like RCA except there is only one) and TOSLINK (the fibre optic cable).

Over 10 metres, your signal loss with a digital signal (i.e. whether USB, coaxial, or TOSLINK) is negligible. The fact that TOSLINK runs via optical cable and not copper like USB/coaxial does not come into play; it's only an issue when you're looking at much longer cables. This is why I say signal loss with USB is not likely to be worse than with TOSLINK. If your mobo has TOSLINK out, you can try use it, but it isn't likely to be different to USB, and you may struggle to find an amp that uses it.

A separate issue here is power loss over that distance - which, from your description, does seem to be a problem. This is why bus-powered things like your little dongle, or an E10K, are likely to perform poorly with a long USB cable. But if the thing you're using has its own power from the wall, then it doesn't matter if you're using USB, coaxial, or TOSLINK over the 10 metres. In this regard the Zen DAC, the Taishan, and the monitor will all be fine, since they all use their own power from the wall. But try the solution I mention at the top of this post with the Y-cable.

Over 10 metres, your signal loss with analogue signal (i.e. if you run a 10m long headphone cable, or 10m long analogue RCA interconnects), is significant and will likely degrade your sound quality. So I support the idea of having your DAC where you are sitting.
 
Ok, that makes sense. Then I agree, you will need something that has its own wall plug rather than a bus-powered thing. So the E10K is probably out. Although, question. Is your USB hub powered by one single USB connector or a Y-cable with two USB connectors (one for data, one for power)? One thing I have done before to solve an issue with a hub losing power, is use a Y-cable, plug the data one into the PC, and the power one into a phone charger plugged into the wall. That may solve your static issue.





You guys are mixing things up.

SPDIF is the standard of digital audio output. It can be carried by a variety of cables/connectors. The two common ones are coaxial (the round connector that looks like RCA except there is only one) and TOSLINK (the fibre optic cable).

Over 10 metres, your signal loss with a digital signal (i.e. whether USB, coaxial, or TOSLINK) is negligible. The fact that TOSLINK runs via optical cable and not copper like USB/coaxial does not come into play; it's only an issue when you're looking at much longer cables. This is why I say signal loss with USB is not likely to be worse than with TOSLINK. If your mobo has TOSLINK out, you can try use it, but it isn't likely to be different to USB, and you may struggle to find an amp that uses it.

A separate issue here is power loss over that distance - which, from your description, does seem to be a problem. This is why bus-powered things like your little dongle, or an E10K, are likely to perform poorly with a long USB cable. But if the thing you're using has its own power from the wall, then it doesn't matter if you're using USB, coaxial, or TOSLINK over the 10 metres. In this regard the Zen DAC, the Taishan, and the monitor will all be fine, since they all use their own power from the wall. But try the solution I mention at the top of this post with the Y-cable.

Over 10 metres, your signal loss with analogue signal (i.e. if you run a 10m long headphone cable, or 10m long analogue RCA interconnects), is significant and will likely degrade your sound quality. So I support the idea of having your DAC where you are sitting.

Thanks for the reply. My hub has a separate micro usb for power and a type A for data. So no y cable solution here. Will look a bit more into the Zen DAC.
 
Thanks for the reply. My hub has a separate micro usb for power and a type A for data. So no y cable solution here. Will look a bit more into the Zen DAC.
I got the Zen DAC v2 recently and its amazing. Like 10/10.

I got mine second hand with the power adapter and Im listening to music right now thinking "this is amazing but my ears really hurt. I should probably turn it down".

The Zen DAC adds a vibrancy to your headphones that gives them a second life. I don't think you need the optional wall power adapter though - its only for high impedance headphones.

I play PUBG with it and the first time there was a gun shot next to me, I nearly pooped me pants. It adds a ton of depth to sounds too. Bass sounds great.
 

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