Microsoft Launches Native Class 2 USB Audio Support. Wait, What?
It's a bummer that headline is from 2017. Apple released a good working version of class 2 USB audio support on June 15, 2010 with Snow Leopard 10.6.4. ....Sorry to burst your bubble if you had visions of a well-oiled Windows audio team with vast knowledge and interest in ... audio.
This news is still nice to read, but is it too little too late? For the most part it's a good thing, but it won't change anyone's life like the same announcement would have back in the first decade of the 2000s.
What Is It, Do I Need It, and How Do I Get It
What is USB audio class 2 support? In the simplest terms, UAC2 support, as it's known to some, is what enables you to play high resolution audio to a USB DAC without the need for additional software / drivers. To be precise, class 1 USB audio support enables playback of PCM music up through 24 bit / 96 kHz. Class 2 support enables much higher sample rates such as PCM 24 bit / 384 kHz and DSD (DoP) up through DSD256.
Details s. CA homepage vom 4.Mai 2017