Yes, that's precisely my point. Output the audio via HDMI and decode it wherever you wish. The external DAC may be a sound card, it may be an amp, what have you. But before reaching that decoding stage, the signal is as it were. So (barring driver issues as you mentioned) why can't you get the best possible sound with HDMI + external DAC, whatever form it may take?
Interested in music is a wide term. I won't be replacing my MOTU UltraLite-mk3 Hybrid (yes, it's an old card - it still sounds great) anytime soon with this. Now, if you mean the kind of people who get optical cables with gold-plated connectors and directional ethernet cables - for them, this probably is a reasonable investment.