narroyo

the apple/belkin cable costs $25 and others go for as little as $5. there has to be some type of quality difference to justify the prices. Even the "Cardas Audio HPI 12" right angle mini stereo plug to right angle mini stereo plug" costs $25. what gives?

hello all, i would like to connect my new macbook pro to my sony table radio, which only has "line in" and "line out" connections. the radio by itself sounds pretty good and i'd like to know what cable is recommended. is there anything better than a plain "mini to mini" cable? apple sells a belkin version for $25, but are there any better audiophile type cables that would result in a better sound? perhaps some that use fire wire? also, i realize that a DAC type device would create better sound but that's not in my budget right now. thanks you all.

i will rip all my audio files using lossless processes as you all mentioned. to comment on wired vs wireless setups: a wired route such as a Mac Book Pro (or windows pc) --> DAC via firewire (or usb) --> amp seems ideal. I could use the ipod touch as a remote, as coops has suggested, and unplug the mac from the dac when not listening to music. could the m audio transit serve as an inexpensive dac, given that my old amp only has rca connections? I will also try the wireless route that audio_elf detailed, using a mini-jack to rca cable. Apple sells one for about $40, but there must cheaper ones that are equally as good. Now if the AirPort Express has a TOSLink / Optical connector hidden within the mini-jack connector, then can i get a toslink/rca connection cable or would I have to upgrade my amp? I know these are a lot of questions, and I appreciate the help and advice. narroyo

thanks for responding. keith, your set up sounds like a good wired option, esp with the fire wire connection rather than usb. souptin, i do have airport express and have read that the stereo mini-jack to rca cable results in inferior sound, but i guess that also depends on the file format, as you detail. what about dacs? could a dac connected within these two configurations improve the sound? the m audio transit is a cheap $75 option, but i can't figure out how it would work.

hello all, this is definitely the most interesting website covering computer audio. i have a brand new macbook pro and i'd like to send music wirelessly via itunes to my amp. i have the airport express router but i have an old marantz amp that only has rca connections. can i fulfill this goal with this setup? secondly, how does a dac or dac-like device like the affordable m audio transit fit in? i will upgrade my amp eventually, but this is the set up for now. alternatively, i have an xp pc and i would be willing to forgo the wireless option and just connect directly, but how? thanks in advance to all. narroyo