I think it's about DAC's. I have the 950 and want to hook up a satellite tuner.(Sirius). It has a digital output (optical). The tuner does not have specs for this output.

Would all componets that have digital outs have some sort of DAC like the 950? Specifically the satellite tuner.

With a digital output, the only DAC (digital to audio converter) that will be included in the signal path will be the one in the 950. The satellite receiver has a DAC, which it uses to create a analog stereo output.

DAC stands for digital to analog converter. ADC stands for analog to digital converter. a digital output typically will not pass through a DAC until right before it gets amplified, but it could go through an ADC if the source is analog but output as digital. ideally it would start as a digital signal (cd, dvd, sat, etc) and continue as digital as long as possible. though with say a turntable it would be analog the whole way typically and some people enjoy that.