Mac?

quote:

Originally posted by Dustysox:
Hi,

Forgive my ignorance. Can someone explain the "whole" Mac thing ref Naim equipment?

I have always used PC's, but I don't understand in conjunction with DAC why everyone keeps talking about Mac.

I use a Logitech Transpoter, is it another way of getting music and hi-res music into the DAC?

Is there anything else I'm missing?

It's just because they are all "Apple Loonies"

There is nothing you can do with a Mac that can't be done with a PC. Just a matter of preference.

-
aleg

And it's a pita to switch between hi and low rez media on a mac, I have both and my preference is a PC with a decent soundcard and foobar.

But I am certainly not saying that Mac's don't do a good job.

Because macs are better in every respect to PCs, the resale value is higher so cost is not an excuse.

They are expensive and so is naim so there is a perceived affinity.

I would much much rather see a mac mini sat next to naim kit than a but fuck ugly Dell End.

They are silent

They have digital out built in.

The combination of hardware and software is symbiotic

There are no known viruses for mac, I have never ran a firewall/antivirus so less over heads.

Macs are better in every respect.

Dustysox

Whilst I like the Mac very much you shouldn't infer from garyi's comments that you don't need to worry about security with a Mac. No known viruses does not equal secure, yes it may reduce your overheads at this point in time and likely infections but there are plenty of vulnerabilities in the Mac OSX. With regards firewalls then in most cases they add value particularly if you are not a techie, it all depends on where and what you intend to do with your machine.

Also consider availability of software in your choice, if you just want a music player then the Mac mini is ideal.

Jack

Hi,

My intentions were not to start whether Mac is better than PC. Just to clarify why Macs seem to be used a lot within Naim products.

Are people using them as music sources etc?? How are they connected, what are the advantages?

Dustysox - I have both Apple and Windows computers at home. However, my music source is a MacMini connected by firewire to a Weiss DAC2 to my Naim amps. I control the MacMini with screen sharing using my MacBook.

The reasons for using this set up were its relative simplicity to set up; the synergy between the Mac firewire and the Weiss; the silence and very small footprint of the MacMini.

Also, my pc and windows laptop both run XP and, try as I might, I could not get them to sound as good as the MacMini or my MacBook using Play - I am sure they can, I just failed on having enough technical nouse to achieve it (I tried Foobar, J River, Media Monkey, Winamp).

I first got in to computer music using my pc and in fact still use the pc to rip all my cds (EAC to FLAC).

Perhaps, one day I will have another go at the Windows route, but the MacMini solution is very nice.

Its easy to make a Mac sing! Simple add Amarra Mini or PV and a HiFace and you have a stunning front end which is very cost effective. From what I've heard to-date the equal of ANYTHING.

Not saying that this cannot be achieved with PC's - just takes more effort.

Amarra testing Basically they're trying to get a MAC to sound as good as Foobar/kernel or ASIO in a PC and this finally did it. It's been easy to get better performance from a PC for years before Amarra showed up and for free. Personally, I'd get a dedicated streamer and just store my files on the computer or NAS of choice to avoid a lot of the interface, player etc gyrations and as with all things, there are better and worse streamers.

js your Amarra testing link comes back to here, in a new window.

Couldn't resist could you JS.

In due course - I'll be taking my second rate Mac with my sub standard iTunes rips and putting it head to head against the HDX.

I'll be sure to post my findings

Please do. Here's the link and it was the first one that came up on a search so I didn't have to cherry pick. Try 'amarra vs foobar' and there it is. http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=68494.0
I have nothing against Amarra MAC and think it a fine solution for those that want to go that way. You are the one that made a statement against PCs and I'm just correcting that statement via a neutral 3rd party link. You're probably not aware of your own biases. What Amarra is doing for MAC has been available to PC users for years. Bypassing the audio core. It's not an either or proposition for me as it is for you. All can be good but I still prefer dedicated audio devices for audio playback.

JS - please re-read my previous post - as you are misrepresenting what I said.

Specifically

"Not saying that this cannot be achieved with PC's - just takes more effort"

Given the volumes you've written on the subject getting the best from PC's I don't see how you can disagree.

quote:

Originally posted by paremus:
JS - please re-read my previous post - as you are misrepresenting what I said.

Specifically

"Not saying that this cannot be achieved with PC's - just takes more effort"

Given the volumes you've written on the subject getting the best from PC's I don't see how you can disagree.

What I was using 2 years ago is still my best option and it wasn't at all difficult to get to but like Amarra, Wavelab isn't free. The tough stuff is getting these to perform to a level I want and that hasn't changed for either system.

By the way - the quotes on the link are from mid 2009. (Didn't know links were allowed!).

The last release of Amarra (late 2009) was a significant improvement on previous versions.

Several others on the Forum can independently confirm this.

Ironically I find it easier setting up a PC (or Mac) for decent sound than setting up a turntable

This is way too geeky, you know I'll just stick to CD and LP and feed my iMAC in to my 82 with a copper cable , sorted. It works P 'n P.
TT is piece of piss, I just get my Doctor to do it, sorted (2).

I didn't mean to split hairs and barely skimmed the link. I believe links to manufacturers or retailers aren't allowed. Sorry if I erred.
All I'm getting at is that it's not difficult to get to where these guys are. You can download, setup, import a library and install an ASIO or kernel plugin in either Foobar or MM and be ready to play in less than 15 minutes. J.River has everthing right there on install. call it 10 minutes. It's not hard. Windows has lots of player and interface options if you want to go there but the tried and true while avoiding the core mixer is there for anyone that wants it.
All I'm basically saying is use whichever you have if you want to go this route.

Occean - with you there! I've given up with my turntable for the moment :-/

quote:

Originally posted by Dustysox:
Hi,

Forgive my ignorance. Can someone explain the "whole" Mac thing ref Naim equipment?

I have always used PC's, but I don't understand in conjunction with DAC why everyone keeps talking about Mac.

I use a Logitech Transpoter, is it another way of getting music and hi-res music into the DAC?

Is there anything else I'm missing?

Dusty, your not missing anything without spending considerably more right now. If you want to try the Naim DAC at some point, you've got a very nice way to connect via the transporters dig out.

I didn't know windows specifically had an audio core? I though one was supposed to purchased an audio card, install it, install drivers then pray to what ever god you believe in.

I have 15 applications running on my little imac right now. That is why I choose macs, rock solid.

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
I didn't know windows specifically had an audio core? I though one was supposed to purchased an audio card, install it, install drivers then pray to what ever god you believe in.

I have 15 applications running on my little imac right now. That is why I choose macs, rock solid.

I think it must have been a long time since you've seen a PC.

Running whatever on a PC is a piece of cake nowadays. You should try it once.

-
aleg

I think people who like Naim are the sort of people who may also like Macs i.e. those who appreciate good design and reliability and don't might paying a little extra for it.

Equally however I guess (he says contradicting himself) there are those Naim fans who appreciate the technical nature of Naim and Hifi who probably like the flexibility and power offered by PCs and Windows....

Just some thoughts

Aleg I have a new (december last year) siemens PC at work with 3 gigs of ram and core 2 duo. Its shit, I cannot imagine running 14 apps at once on it, and even if I did I would have no idea I had that many running due to the overall hideousness of Windows.

I accept in windows 7 they copied the dock thing so in that regard its easier to see whats going on so thats a plus point*


*Yes all manufacturers steel from each other and apple is far from innocent in this regard

and no doubt that original Windows was a huge theft of the MAC OS.

Actually I think windows 3.11 (I think one of the first ones) was around the same time as the original mac os. Perhaps its agreed the whole GUI thing was developing around the same time for a number of companies.

Without doubt the hardware and software coming from the same building has up sides and downsides. PC users would argue that freedom is lost because they cannot for instance easily change hardware. Mac users would argue all we want is for computers to work. Sorry but Mac works better than PC.

Also I really hate how PC manufacturers have to put stickers all over their PCs to tell dumb people about whats in them. That annoys me. And all the trial shite software that is installed on them. Does one PC manufacturer actually have the balls to sell a Laptop without stickers and shite trial software on them>