What connects to what
Every input against every output.
Every connection in the system, in the order you make them. Each one says what it carries, when the choice matters, and which cables serve it. Cables are the largest thing we sell and the least explained, which is the wrong way round.
Everything plugs into something. A mains cord carries the AC that every other component turns into music, which is why power is the first pillar rather than an afterthought.
A linear supply replaces the plastic adapter that came with one particular box, and connects to it by a DC lead. Check the plug size and the polarity before you buy either.
Ordinary RJ45. Any working cable passes the same bits; what an audiophile cable claims to change is the electrical noise riding along with them, which is a smaller and more arguable effect than the price difference suggests.
The one connection with real choices. USB is the most common and the most electrically noisy. Coax and AES are simpler and often quieter. I2S is the least standardised: two devices with I2S sockets do not necessarily speak to each other.
A DDC sits between the source and the converter, taking USB in and handing out something the converter prefers. Only worth adding if the converter is the one that benefits, which is a question to ask before buying rather than after.
Balanced XLR or single-ended RCA. Balanced cancels interference picked up along the way, which matters over a long run in a noisy place and often makes no audible difference over one metre in a quiet room.
The last connection, and the only one carrying real current. Length and gauge matter more than anything printed on the jacket. If your speakers have two pairs of terminals, the jumpers that came with them are usually the weakest part of the path.
A shared timing reference, distributed over BNC. Only useful once every device in the path can accept an external clock, which most cannot.
Which sockets your box actually has.
This map is true for every product at these pillars, because it describes the connection rather than the equipment. What it cannot tell you is whether the particular converter you are looking at has balanced outputs at all. Manufacturers publish that on their own sites, and we do not yet mirror it here. Until we do, ask us and we will read the manual for you rather than guess.