I have a TV that only has TOSLINK output, and have been using a USB Powered S.M.S.L. SU-1, that for better or worse, it’s starting to glitch out terribly, so I’m in the market for a replacement.
Do you guys have a recommendation for what a good DAC from TOSLINK to RCA I could get? Looking for something that would be reliable for years to come.
I know that my TV could potentially do USB, but I’d prefer TOSLINK, as I am not sure if my TV (Bravia 5 55”) would support it.
The Musical Fidelity V-DAC II is a nice piece of kit for that. If you can get it used at a price you’re ok with it’s pretty much a fire and forget solution. And since it has USB as well as Toslink you can try both. Just make sure it comes with the original PSU, I think I remember those being a weird voltage.
I’ve used the predecessor to the Fiio D03k for years. Conveniently 5v usb powered, has toslink and coax inputs, rca and 3.5mm outputs. It doesn’t support dolby or dsd of course. On the d03 it would output horrible static when getting a non pcm signal but looks like they fixed it.
Do you need volume control on the DAC? If not, there’s this very cheap MS8413-based DAC. I have no idea about longevity or audio quality though…
But given that it’s not an audiophile product and that DACs are a solved problem it’s likely to be at least decent audio quality wise (as in: transparent to the human ear). Would be nice with an objective review though just to make sure the designer/manufacurer haven’t messed something up.
You could try the Douk Audio U2 Mini. It’s compact, USB powered, and works well for TOSLINK to RCA.
So the curiosity got the best of me and got an iFi Go Link DAC, as I only run stereo, and it worked like a charm, and the cabling is a lot simpler now! But then again I’m locked now to stereo only - this’ll do for now until I move, where I’ll definitely try to explore TOSLINK again, I do need a pure receiver without an Amp - but that’s a problem for future me!
Thanks for all the input! I wouldn’t have discovered this DAC without your suggestions!
Yes, this is the one I got! I’m also surprised, but not complaining! 
These DACs are pretty good. But also have levels of quality depending on the price. Have been using this one iBasso DC03PRO - iBasso Audio with my VR for a while (swapped from a more simple one).
