jadded

Thanks Chris and all. So, it sounds like all I need is a DAC which can decode HDCD and connect to a Mac. The Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC sounds wonderful but I would be hard pressed to drop that kind of coin on any single audio component. I was hoping to find something simple and economical like the Halide HD DAC that could decode HDCD. Do you know of anything like that? At $1K, even though I have little use for any of the video or home theater capability of the highly recommended Oppo BDP-95, it peaked my interest because it appears it could decode itunes ripped HDCD files via USB or wifi. Is this true? I have trouble believing the wifi route would preserve the same fidelity as a wired connection, but what do I know? Even if this is possible, isn't there a more simple solution? A plug and play device like the Halide that preserves the sound, handles HDCD and costs less than $2K? Or a Peachtree (i)Nova that has HDCD capability?

Thanks for the reply. If both the mac and the oppo have USB connections, why can't they be connected that way?

I have a lot of HDCD CDs ripped to itunes (AIFF). I'm looking for a relatively simple way to decode these tracks for playback. Assuming all 20 bits are intact in itunes and the Mac is connected via USB to the new Oppo BDP-95 (which can decode HDCD disks), will the Oppo decode the HDCD content?