If you were to rate the sound from 1-10 comparing the internal usb vs using a pcs toslink output to the dac vs using the OR5... What would the numbers be? If the OR5 were a 9/10 and the USB a 2/10, what would a toslink output from a laptop's hybrid hp jack be?

Heh, that number would change depending on the laptop's toslink in question sorry to say.

^Thats what I was thinking but if a certain dac's usb implementation is bad then even a realtek sound card's toslink out can sound more transparent. Thats what I felt with my old mhdt Havana dac anyways when connected to my laptop.

Many thanks for your impressions, purrin, LFF, and everyone else! This forum is about the only place that has matched some of my own impressions of the DACs out there, including your take on DSD. In particular, I was quite disappointed in the Berkeley as well as the associated USB -> S/DIF converter, and your impressions of the Mytek match mine.

The weirdest thing is that DSD -> high-res PCM conversions through Pure Music or Audirvana sound just fine through a PCM-1704 based DAC ... something I can't say for DACs that use delta-sigma converters (like the Berkeley or Mytek). They tend to sound better with a direct DSD feed, if available on the USB input.

I'm now seriously considering either the Audio-GD Master 7 or the SA-2. They both seem to have the same digital front end and power supplies, with three R-core transformers. The main difference appears to be the analog section, which is current-mode ACSS for the Master 7, and diamond-differential for the SA-2. My power amplifiers use an input transformer for phase-splitting duties, so the difference between balanced and coax interconnects is not important.

My power amplifiers use an input transformer for phase-splitting duties, so the difference between balanced and coax interconnects is not important.

On the input side no, but on the output side, yes. Assuming the newer A-GD 1704 based DACs are the same as previous ones, you only use half of the DACs with a single ended output.