For music, I guess the SPDIF out would be enough for me, as most of my FLAC files are encoded in 44.1kHz / 16bit anyway. And I guess that even this FiiO has a far better DAC than the one inside the Q10 Pro. Or would be this an exaggeration?
And what about the FiiO D07, that also has internal DD/DTS decoders? So I could skip the Box's own PCM conversion and send the DD and DTS audio straight bitstreamed into the D07. How's that would turn out quality wise?
Other options advised to me are:
Connect DA51 (PCM, DD and DTS),
Connect DA21 (PCM only, but has a "Wolfson DAC").
Another way would be to skip the SPDIF and do the same concept on the HDMI output:
SMSL SH-1 (Can do DD and 2.0 PCM, but not sure about 5.1 PCM and DTS decoding, but surely has a good quality DAC),
Connect AE14 (DD, DTS and 2.0 PCM).
-> So formats like DD or DTS also can be decoded by the external DAC's.
My presumption is that the 48kHz/16bit PCM regulation only applies to the SPDIF outs and on the HDMI it could be bitstreamed untouched? And even when it's converted from DD or DTS to 2.0 PCM previously by the Box? Am I right on this one?