Xbian + MPD + external audio DAC?

[mmontev]

Hello,

I come from XBMC + Foobar200 in WinXP.
I want to go to Xbian + MPD in Rasp Pi.
I have an old school analog stereo audio setup.

Since I do not have a HDMI capable receiver and I don't like Pi's analog sound quality (specially for music), so I'm looking for a kind of external DAC.

Some considerations:
- I don't need to watch TV and listen to music simultaneously.
- only stereo sound (2.0).

Options are:
a) USB DAC. -Pros: lots of brands to choose from. -Cons: technically not an option at the moment.
b) HDMI audio splitter. -Pros: As long as I understand this approach is better than USB in terms of performance. -Cons: few unknown brands to choose, sound quality unknown.

My questions are:
1) Is the option Xbian + MPD through HDMI feasible? I mean software feasible. As I understand Xbian do not use a system-level sound system but a kind direct manipulation of the hardware.

2) Would be advisable to wait for the ALSA implementation and go for the USB option?

Thank you in advance and regards,

Diego

PS: I really like Xbian!