IMO USB is a waaaay over complicated (and under performing) spec laden with ~20 layers of crap which have been piled on over the years...

Don't be surprised when it doesn't work perfectly for everything but the most simple and well defined use cases.

Pretty much this. And I agree with the comments about finicky mac USB in general. I use a Schiit Wyrd just because it can be so inconsistent.

I'll add one (possibly) helpful comment: for me at least, it helps things if I don't have the source that I want to use set in Mac OS System Preferences. Audirvana and JRMC both have application exclusive access (or, "Hog Mode") built into the program, so they'll use whatever source selected in the program regardless of what is set in Mac OS preferences. I'd imagine that Amarra has that too. Sometimes when switching DACs out that exclusive mode setting conflicts with the Sound Output OS settings. I leave my Sound Output OS settings on "Internal Speakers" and only select external audio devices inside of the options of the particular program I'm using. This prevents device/application conflicts.

Cousin Balki and ZD,

thank you very much for the tip. I ignored the Mac System Preferences (left it on Internal Speakers) and used Amarra Preferences to select the Xfi. Works like a charm and when I go home will try it with the Yggy.

Add: Back home and working fine with the Yggy. Thanks once again mates.

A very different question (maybe belongs in the Yggy thread).... Over the weekend I was going back and forth between my MBA --> Xfi --> LCD-X on one hand and the MBA -->Yggy--> Mojo --> LCD-X. After using the Xfi, when I went to the Yggy, there was no sound output (and more importantly) the bit rate lights were not lighting up. The first time, I shut down and restarted the MBA and everything was fine with the Yggy. The second time, the same procedure did not work. I shut down the Yggy for like 5 seconds and turned it back on. Everything was fine again...I'm using Amarra 3.0.3 on the MBA. Any thoughts would be helpful and apologies if this does not belong here...

I saw this once with my Yggy, working against a Mac mini running Audirvana. Restarted Audirvana, didn't matter. Attempted playback to other USB DACs, worked fine. Rebooted the mini, which I was sure would solve the problem, no dice...

Power-cycled the Yggy: bingo.

Now that the EAR Acute DAC has been given the once over, where would it fit on this chart?

I consider it equal to the Bricasti myself but for different reasons. They both have that grainy sigma delta whatever hashy timbre compared to Yggy. Ear has better clarity, and tonal dynamics on the output, but I think I recall the Bricasti and Yggy having a more refined overall presentation than the Ear to me. Yeah, things pop more on the ear and I love clarity and blackground, but there's something a little too undisciplined about the Ear's presentation beyond just the grainy tone. Could be older tubes or just the inherent signature of those tubes. I think I've become accustomed to the precision of a good DHT or super space tubes.

For DACs, Yggy's accuracy and more cohesive and analog digital conversion is simply superior to either and any other modern non R2R solution. I'll explore my own or other output solutions for the Yggy than go back to listening to low rez/artifacted sounding wav/redbook. Plus Yggy still has the best imaging, layering and resolution despite the greyer and more tonally compressed sounding background.

My 2 cents.