these are my findings about computer audio after some trial error:
1. computer audio is very very hardware/OS/software dependent. computer structure is multi task (time sharing) and using it as a real time single task processor is not easy.
even small extra process load on cpu dramatically change the sound. wav and flac are the same but Wave/AIFF sounds better than Flac because cpu should unzip Flac before sending to port. i do not know why a small extra process will affect the sound even in a powerful cpu like core i5.
if you select a fast/powerful cpu/ram and optimize OS/Software then you will get better sound . optimizing OS/Software is even more important than selecting powerful hardware. linux could be customise better than other os but mac osx is not bad , you can use renice command in osx terminal.
i renice coreaudiod priority to -20 and the result is unbelievable.
the best software on mac is Roon labs. it is far better than other bit-perfect softwares like ammara/audirvana/bitperfect .
i use CAD optimization script and i use linux renice command to increase roonlabs and coreaudiod priority in system.
http://www.computeraudiodesign.com/Computer%20Audio%20Design%20OSX%20Optimization%20Scripts%20V1.3.zip
http://bencane.com/2013/09/09/setting-process-cpu-priority-with-nice-and-renice/
then you should use good linear power supply for PC , good battery or good LSPU should be use to get good sound.
2. computer audio needs gordon rankin codes. i use berkeley alpha usb to spdif converter.berkeley use Gordon Rankin for Streamlength asynchronous code.
i do not why but i think without gordon codes you will not get good sound.
3. purist anniversary is the best usb cable in my setup even better than Acoustice revive and curious .
I bet you hear good sound even better than over 50k$ transports. our last test was CEC TL0-X vs my Berkeley , they sounded very similar.
my current setup :
Macbook Pro mid 2014 Retina 13″ (USB output on right side of Macbook), 8Gig RAM, Core i5 + External HDD (Thunderbolt port)
MAC OS X Mavericks + CAD optimization Script + iTunes EQ off
Roon Labs Player Software (true Bit-Perfect mode with exclusive access) + AIFF File Format
Purist Audio Anniversary USB Cable 1.0m
Berkeley Alpha USB (Gordon Rankin for Streamlength asynchronous code) + Purist Aquila AC Cable 1.5m
AMR DP-777 DAC (BNC input)
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