Xbian + MPD + external audio DAC?

[rikardo1979]

there is a talk about MDP on our forum, so I would say you may join the discussion and try to work through.

Regarding the USB DAC's and ALSA, I do not really see this bright in near future unfortunately.

So my best bet would be to go with some HDMI digital audio extractor which is confirm by some user to work, so you not loose a money by buying some cheap stuff which doesnt work or just partially.

Or just reconsider upgrading the AVR with HDMI. I know you probably say as this is no way cos the investment but this would be the best of all options, believe me