Using a mp3 player as a DAC

[austi15]

I have a Cowon S9 mp3 player that sounds really great. My main source is a 2006 Macbook (2gb RAM, 160GB HD, core 2 duo, XP) with a crappy internal soundcard.

I'm using 2 monitors, the macbook monitor, and a 15" LCD elo touchscreen (for itunes), set up so when the mouse pointer goes through the left side of the macbook screen it goes to the elo. I'm getting a serial to USB converter so the touchscreen will pretty much be a separate computer for music.

My question is, with tons of other financial considerations on my mind right now I can't buy a dedicated DAC. The computer is a much more efficient source. Is it possible to play directly through USB on the macbook through the Cowon (and it's DAC) into analog? Seems like too good an idea to be overlooked by cowon or their 3rd party developers...

 

[beekeo]

That's an interesting solution! But I doubt Cowon or any other digital media player maker would have invested any time to R&D the software for that. If the Cowon has a strong 3rd party/open source programming movement someone might have attempted it. You would need a program that would make the Cowon look like a USB soundcard instead of a storage device, then it would need to take the data stream and pass it through to the internal DAC.

It certainly sounds possible, but I think it might be a long shot to find. I'd try asking in the forums over at head-fi.org, there seems to be a good number of S9 owners there.

 

[austi15]

Thanks I'll try that.