Thong Pham Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Hello, i want to improve audio quality go my macbook because i listen a lots of lossless music. I want to buy a DAC which can connect with my radial JBL speaker and my home system ( amplifier). Can you advice me the way of connect between my mac and DAC! i found that we have have two ways: toslink and usb! which will be give the best quality thanks! I have plan to use my DAC at home so wall power supply should be the best! thanks Link to comment
simplon Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Hello, i want to improve audio quality go my macbook because i listen a lots of lossless music. I want to buy a DAC which can connect with my radial JBL speaker and my home system ( amplifier). Can you advice me the way of connect between my mac and DAC! i found that we have have two ways: toslink and usb! which will be give the best quality thanks! I have plan to use my DAC at home so wall power supply should be the best! thanks For me the question was the opposite! What is the best computer to be connected to my DAC Weis 202 using FIREWIRE. Don't forget this network technology. Apple has had it on board and now converter from their new Thunderbold interface to Firewire are available. Firewire is THE standard in professionel audio studios. Digital Sources: MacBook 8GB / 512GB internal SSD, iTunes 12.0.1.26, OS X 10.10 El Capitan, Amarra Symphony iRC 3.0.3 and Pure Music 2.0, Weiss DAC 202 Firewire, Creek Destiny CD, Analog Sources: Transrotor FatBob Turntable with SME M2-9 tonearm and Benz ACE-L MC cartridge Preamplification: McIntosh C500T Tube preamplifier; Clearaudio Balance+ Phono preamplifier (balanced); Power amplifier: McIntosh MC452 Stereo Loudspeaker: B&W 802 Diamond Cables: AC: Audioplan power conditioning and 5x Audioplan Power Cable, 1 Shunyayta power cable, 1 Audio Pro power cable Kimber KS 1130 XLR between Phonostage and pre-amplifier, Speakercable Kimber 3033 incl. Kimber BiFocal Bi-wiring- adapter, Audiopro Advanced Listening 3 XLR, 1 digital SPDIF cable CD to DAC, Firewire MacBook to DAC Kubala-Sosna, Accessories: room treated with accoustic elements from r-t-f-s, Hannl Mera Vinyl Record Cleaner; 5x bFly Audioabsorber, Creative equipment rack Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Hello, i want to improve audio quality go my macbook because i listen a lots of lossless music. I want to buy a DAC which can connect with my radial JBL speaker and my home system ( amplifier). Can you advice me the way of connect between my mac and DAC! i found that we have have two ways: toslink and usb! which will be give the best quality thanks! I have plan to use my DAC at home so wall power supply should be the best! thanks Both work, but optical SPDIF toslink is limited to 24/96, and a well done USB implementation (which is not always the case) can sound better. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
simplon Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 SPDIF might also have technical problems to tell the DAC the bit depth and frequency automatically. With USB and Firewire this is no problem from a technical point of view. Digital Sources: MacBook 8GB / 512GB internal SSD, iTunes 12.0.1.26, OS X 10.10 El Capitan, Amarra Symphony iRC 3.0.3 and Pure Music 2.0, Weiss DAC 202 Firewire, Creek Destiny CD, Analog Sources: Transrotor FatBob Turntable with SME M2-9 tonearm and Benz ACE-L MC cartridge Preamplification: McIntosh C500T Tube preamplifier; Clearaudio Balance+ Phono preamplifier (balanced); Power amplifier: McIntosh MC452 Stereo Loudspeaker: B&W 802 Diamond Cables: AC: Audioplan power conditioning and 5x Audioplan Power Cable, 1 Shunyayta power cable, 1 Audio Pro power cable Kimber KS 1130 XLR between Phonostage and pre-amplifier, Speakercable Kimber 3033 incl. Kimber BiFocal Bi-wiring- adapter, Audiopro Advanced Listening 3 XLR, 1 digital SPDIF cable CD to DAC, Firewire MacBook to DAC Kubala-Sosna, Accessories: room treated with accoustic elements from r-t-f-s, Hannl Mera Vinyl Record Cleaner; 5x bFly Audioabsorber, Creative equipment rack Link to comment
Thong Pham Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 So, anyone can recommend some DAC to pair with my macbook! DAC should be about $300 Thanks Link to comment
souptin Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 SPDIF might also have technical problems to tell the DAC the bit depth and frequency automatically. With USB and Firewire this is no problem from a technical point of view. Are you speaking from experience or theory? If so, can you give examples, it would be useful for people to know. Personally I have had no issues with this (using an old DACMagic), and have not seen any reports anywhere, ever, of a SPDIF DAC not recognising the bit depth and frequency of the input. So, anyone can recommend some DAC to pair with my macbook! DAC should be about $300 Thanks The Meridian Explorer would be worth a try, should be about that price. I have one, and am very pleased with it. If you like the idea of small, portable, with headphone output, then you may want to consider the Dragonfly as well. I have not tried one, but it's a little cheaper and seems to offer a slightly different sound to the Explorer. Horses for courses. Meat and poison. Etc. Link to comment
mwheelerk Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 The AudioQuest Dragonfly is one that should be considered. It is a great price point/features/performance combination. I have read positive things about the Meridian also but have no experience with it. "A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open." Frank Zappa Link to comment
dapedius Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Hi, I have just signed up for the Geek (A New USB Awesomifier for Headphones) at Kickstarter. Although designed for headphones it does have a line out that can connect to an amp. It does DSD and high res music files and looks interesting. Of course this does not exist yet so always a risk but the designers have create the top DAC in the world (apparently - I have not heard it ;-). Anyway just a suggestion - I am no expert on these matters. Good luck with your search :-) Link to comment
musicresearch Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I'm happy with my Explorer and a MBP Retina. (It works just fine on all my macs, actually...) Buying Audirvana made a surprisingly big difference too. (You can try for free very easily and see for yourself.) Link to comment
Musicophile Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 In addition to those mentioned above, the M2Tech Hiface DAC and the Micromega MyDAC have had positive reviews. Check out my blog at musicophilesblog.com - From Keith Jarrett to Johannes Brahms Link to comment
MemoryPlayer Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 So, anyone can recommend some DAC to pair with my macbook! DAC should be about $300 Thanks Spend a little more and go with HRT MS HD... Link to comment
Paul R Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 If the absolute limit you are willing to spend is $300, then the AudioQuest DragonFly is hard to beat at the $149 price for version 1.2. The Merdian Explorer has a different sound, and will accept higher resolution files. I hesitate to call it better though. I have both and I much prefer the sound of the DragonFly on my MacBook pro (non Retina) - especially when playing back rebook quality material. You might want to try and get a listen to both of them though- you may find you prefer one over the other. -Paul Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never dealt with a cat DAC. Robert A. Heinlein Link to comment
wwaldmanfan Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 If you can squeeze another $99 into your budget, I highly recommend the Peachtree DAC•iTx: USB 24/192 Asynchronous DAC - DAC Link to comment
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