Hello All
I have been using an Apogee Duet for connecting a Mac to my Naim boxes, however I mainly use a PC at the moment and am fed up having to switch on the Mac just for music. I understand that the Duet cannot be used for PCs at all - is there a smilar device for a PC that anyone can recommend? Don't need any instrument inputs just a connection from PC to hifi, although I do love the volume knob on the Duet. I use itunes.
Any help appreciated.
Posted on: 31 December 2011 by dave brubeck
After doing some research it appears I have the choice between an 'audio interface' or a dedicated DAC - please excuse my ignorance! An audio input besides that from the laptop would be nice I suppose, however I will need to make a choice between firewire and USB..... ???
Posted on: 31 December 2011 by Pev
Assuming you just need to play itunes from your pc to a preamp then all you need is a dac. This could be a usb dac as a separate box and will have extra digital inputs, A possibly cheaper option would be to buy a decent soundcard for your pc and connect to your preamp from that. If you search this forum for "usb dac" or "soundcard" you should find a lot of suggestions. I sympathise with your confusion - calling the Duet an "audio interface" is unhelpful in finding comparable devices. Life is much more rational outside the walled garden! What you need is a dac and usb vs firewire is not critical - usb is much more common but firewire is faster. USB is more than fast enough for music. You can get firwire dacs but they tend to be more expensive.
