usb dac vs optical spdif to a receiver

[lboregard]

hello, im currently driving my polk audio monitor30 series speakers out of zone2 of a denon avr-3312ci. the source is my hackintosh connected via optical spdif.

the question is ... would the sound be improved if i switch to an usb dac, let's say in the $400, $500 range ?

thanks in advance !

 

[Grador]

Most likely not. The DACs in your receiver are quite competent. On the other hand $500 could go quite some way in improving the sound with new speakers.

It's almost never a good idea to spend more money on any component than your speakers have cost, and in this case you're looking at spending 250% what those speakers cost on a DAC.

 

[lboregard]

thank you for the advice, grador !

 

[fmw]

Underscore and capitalize what Grador said.