Crack buzz for Certain Audio only? [resolved]

[Paul Birkeland]

Ya my motherboard has a toslink output. So if I'm understanding, toslink is made for regular audio to be lossless and because it's using light

With the current state of audio jargon, lossless will tend to refer to compression of digital files rather than signal loss over long cable runs.

it can't pass Hi-def lossless audio like HDMI can (which will possibly have EMI)

What kind of files/sample rates do you have? 

When you're using the built in sound card on your computer as a DAC, I would not be too concerned about the resolution of the files you're playing. 

The toslink connection will completely eliminate the noise you're experiencing.  There are certainly high resolution USB DACs that you can use that will provide the same effect, but I think it's best to start with a $20 DAC to provide a baseline for proper noise performance.

[Baskevyl]

Got a $25 DAC, improvements are dramatic. No hiss/hum until the Crack is fully turned up (and no need to do that), while the buzz is completely gone. Thanks for all the advice, it feels fantastic to finally hear such clean and detailed audio.

[Paul Birkeland]

I'm glad it worked out!