Okay, so, I was trying to get my PC to output audio through USB to my Mac, which then connects to a DAC. Sounds simple, right? Not quite. It was a bit of a headache, but I finally figured it out and I want to share the process with you guys!
I started by connecting my PC to my Mac using a regular USB cable. I thought it’d be plug-and-play, but it wasn’t. My Mac didn’t recognize the PC as an audio output device initially. I tried to find some answers on the Internet, and all of them are not helpful.
Then I thought, maybe I need a special kind of DAC. I remembered something about the Topping D10S DAC, it can operate as a USB to SPDIF, which might be what I needed. So, I went ahead and got one. Once it arrived, I hooked it up, and still, nothing. The Mac still didn’t see the PC as an audio source.
Next, I messed around with the settings on my Mac. I went to System Settings, then Sound, and clicked on Output. I was hoping to see my PC or the DAC listed there, but no luck. Only the usual suspects like internal speakers, USB speakers, and AirPlay devices were showing up. I felt like I was missing something obvious.
After a lot of trial and error, I realized I needed to change some settings on my PC too. I found an option to switch the USB mode to USB DAC. In my case, I had to tap the ‘Storage’ icon in the pull-down shortcuts menu to switch, but it might be different on your PC. After that, I connected the PC to the Mac again via USB, and boom, it started working as a USB DAC!
However, there was another hiccup. While I was getting great sound, I noticed occasional dropouts. It was super annoying. I could still see the DAC in the Audio MIDI Setup on my Mac, but the sound would just cut out randomly. I tried switching to COAX output on the DAC, but the sound was much better on USB.
So, here’s what I learned from this whole experience:
- Connecting a PC to a Mac for audio output via USB isn’t always straightforward.
- A DAC like the Topping D10S can help, but it’s not a guaranteed fix.
- You need to configure both your PC and Mac settings properly.
- Look for a USB DAC mode setting on your PC.
- Even when it works, you might still experience occasional sound dropouts on USB.
It was a real pain to set up, but hey, the sound quality is amazing now. If you’re trying to do something similar, hopefully, my experience can save you some time and frustration. Just be prepared for some tinkering and don’t expect it to work perfectly right out of the box!