Mac book pro and ndac

Posted by: stuart on 26 January 2012

First time on streaming audio with poor IT knowledge so go easy on me! Just ordered ndac as found it superb upgrade for my cd5xs. Cd will remain my main source. Current lap top is goosed and has ran slowly for some time. Therefore will purchase mac book pro tomorrow. Never used a mac before. Not ready for streaming yet but would like to try downloading some hi def material probably starting with meet me in London. Will play via USB stick. My question is will iTunes work as suitable download manager to support wav 24/196 and how easy is it to download files. Sorry if this seems a rudimentary question to most here
Thanks
Stuart
Posted on: 26 January 2012 by pcstockton

I recommend you do not get a Mac.  Go with another solution.  Linux if you despise Windows.

 

-p

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by stuart
The good lady wife has final say. She will use it more that I for work and photography etc

Stuart
Posted on: 26 January 2012 by Iver van de Zand

Hi Stuart, have a look at this thread, answering all your questions: https://forums.naimaudio.com/di...nt/13111295368076312

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by Claus-Thoegersen

If you want to download material from Naim they have a download manager that requires Adobe Air, and I am not sure it exists in a mac version? You can still download tracks but you will have to download each track individually.

 

Many on the fourm will say that a Mac is preferable to a cd to play music  through the ndac.

 

Forget the OS wars they are not important, since sollutions exists for all the major OS.

 

Claus

 

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by spartacus

Hi Stuart. I second Iver's suggestion that you read the thread that he started. I also suggest that you do lots of reading/research into setting up, conversion and finding the right software and hardware for you and your wife. It is also important to take straight up recommendations with a little bit of a question mark, you may have noticed in some of the postings people have their favourites and are almost evangelical in the promotion of their view of things.

 

Most important of all is to make sure that you wife is happy with the choices made. I find that ensuring domestic harmony helps my interest in hi-fi.

 

Having said the above I use a Naim DAC and a Mac Mini feeding 282 Pre Amp=> 250-2 Power Amp => Alleae speakers. Unfortunately I can't say anything on 24/196 files but I play my 2K+ CD's ripped in AIFF through this system with great satisfaction.

 

Good luck and enjoy whatever you choose.

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by spartacus

Adobe Air is available on Mac. The latest is 3.1 from the Adobe download site.

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by stuart
Thanks everyone. Think I am starting to get an idea of how it all works. My dealer has kindly offered to give me dome tuition and we have some teaching booked in at the apple store do it all should become clearer
Posted on: 26 January 2012 by Guido Fawkes
I'm not sure the MacBook Pro is as good as the Mac Mini - I seriously doubt it is - with regards to the low jitter s/pdif out. Of course, try it and see how you get on. I suspect you 'll get better results from a USB to s/pdif convertor like the Hallide Bridge or MF v-link. You will only be able to play up to 24/96, but the sound quality is superb.

The good thing about the Mac is it just works.
Posted on: 26 January 2012 by totemphile

One of the sources I use with my nDAC/PS555 is a recent (2010) MBP. Sound quality using a cheap optical cable is great! I am sure it can be bettered with a real glass fibre cable but it's very good as is. I do prefer the M2Tech HiFace/Naim DC1BNC connection though. It sounds truly superb. I don't have my CDX2.2 at the moment to compare but I don't think it will sound much better. Recently downloaded Naim's HD "Meet me in London" album, my first experience with 24/192 tracks and it blew me away, simply amazing!! Downloaded it straight into iTunes without installing Naim's Download Manger. The files are WAV so you need to fill in the metadata yourself. Only thing I did not manage was to include the album artwork, for some reason it just won't show?? It's odd because I managed to insert artwork with all CDs I ripped in AIFF, maybe it's to do with WAV not keeping artwork in iTuens? Dunno.

 

SQ in order of preference into nDAC/PS555 would be:

 

1) CDX2.2/DC1BNC and MBP/HiFace/DC1BNC (pretty much on par)

2) Sonos ZP90/DC1RCA off MBP via Ethernet and MBP optical out (very much on par)

3) Sonos ZP90/DC1RCA off MBP over WLAN

 

Of course Sonos is limited to 16/41. Still like to use it though, their control apps for the iPad and iPhone are both excellent, rock solid and a joy to use!

 

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by totemphile
Originally Posted by Guido Fawkes:
I'm not sure the MacBook Pro is as good as the Mac Mini - I seriously doubt it is - with regards to the low jitter s/pdif out.

It would be interesting to know but one thing is for sure, the optical out of the newer unibody MBPs are very good!

 

The good thing about the Mac is it just works.

 Once you go Mac, you never go back!

Posted on: 26 January 2012 by Bart
For downloading hi res music files and putting them onto a usb stick, it makes absolutely no difference whether you go Mac or PC.  In each case, you are simply downloading files, using either the web browser itself or a 'download manager,' in any case both OS X (Mac) and Windows will be fully supported by the websites you are interested in downloading from.

If you want to use this new computer as a server from which to stream music to a player, or directly to the Naim DAC, then you might want to do some more research.  But in my opinion, you likely would want a piece of hardware that is dedicated to that task, rather than a laptop that gets general use in the family.
Posted on: 26 January 2012 by Tog
The interesting thing about this rather odd view held by some; that Macs are somehow too much trouble for streaming or audiophile setups, is that it flies in the face of recent history. It is easy to forget that using computers as a source is hardly a new idea and that the current wave of USB dacs present just the latest iteration of a trend that has been around for some time. Crucially the pioneers of that trend developed their equipment using Macs as the predominant digital source.

It is the current mania over UPnP that complicates the issue and for that you are indeed better off with a Linux setup. Apple still have some way to go with AirPlay.

Mac too tricky to plug into a decent dac - I don't think so.

Tog
Posted on: 27 January 2012 by Briz Vegas
Of course there is also the other option for hookup. Best way out of a Mac is via FireWire. Apart from being a higher quality connection than USB or optical, it also allows you to use a USB hard drive for your music. Disadvantage has been that FireWire interfaces are not cheap and in my experience they need further tweaking to sound their very best ( power supply particularly). Of course that may be the key reason why folks prefer the other alternatives ( ie cost).
Posted on: 27 January 2012 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by totemphile:

 Once you go Mac, you never go back!

i did

Posted on: 27 January 2012 by Tog
To Rockville Patrick - don't !! Tog :-)
Posted on: 27 January 2012 by aysil
Originally Posted by pcstockton:
Originally Posted by totemphile:

 Once you go Mac, you never go back!

i did

Patrick, you are certainly not alone. I also returned to windows after using mac for a few weeks. We, windows users are usually not fanatics, and don't even talk about these things. So, let's not bother!

Posted on: 27 January 2012 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by Tog:
To Rockville Patrick - don't !! Tog :-)

that went right over my head...... REM reference?

Posted on: 27 January 2012 by Steven Shaw
Originally Posted by Claus-Thoegersen:

If you want to download material from Naim they have a download manager that requires Adobe Air, and I am not sure it exists in a mac version? You can still download tracks but you will have to download each track individually.

 

Many on the fourm will say that a Mac is preferable to a cd to play music  through the ndac.

 

Forget the OS wars they are not important, since sollutions exists for all the major OS.

 

Claus

 

 

I can confirm that you can download from the Naim record site using a mac. Adobe Air is available for a mac.

 

Buying a macbook pro was the best thing I ever did in terms of computers. Its great.

Posted on: 27 January 2012 by Noogle
Originally Posted by Briz Vegas:
Best way out of a Mac is via FireWire. Apart from being a higher quality connection than USB or optical,

 

Higher quality?  How so?
Posted on: 27 January 2012 by pcstockton
Originally Posted by Briz Vegas:
Best way out of a Mac is via FireWire.

Do they even outfit their computers with Firewire these days?

Posted on: 27 January 2012 by Briz Vegas
My understand is that FireWire 800 is faster than USB 2, not sure about 3 but Macs only use USB2 last time I looked. Also FireWire has less impact on CPU usage. There has been plenty of discussion on this in the past, ie what sounds best. That's what lead me to FireWire in the first place, and my external hard drive is on USB so the DAC should be FireWire for optimal results. Of course we are talking computers here so everything changes before I have a chance to press send. I have been keeping an eye on the Mac releases since getting the INT202 wondering when it would become redundant. Last Mac dealer I spoke to in 2011 did not think it likely, but that was 2011. Computers short lifespan is one of the things I don't like about computer audio. If I spend $$$$ on hifi I want it to last me 15 years not 15 months.
Posted on: 27 January 2012 by garyi
Firewire is being phased out, its old tech.

The trouble for pc users is they expect to see a serial port on the back of a computer, really. Move on

Its all at thunderbolt now.
Posted on: 28 January 2012 by Tog
The thunderbolt peripherals are starting to trickle in - expect a torrent by 2013.

The WD HDD  look as if they might sell well.

@Patrick - you've got to admit the Apple 27" display is a bit gorgeous

Tog
Posted on: 28 January 2012 by Simon-in-Suffolk
Gary, as FireWire was Apple's creation, is it really being phased out by Apple?  I read that new Firwire specs such as FireWire S3200 have been developed, but is Apple support now switching to Thunderbolt?
I have Thunderbolt on my new Mac ( well actally Mrs S-in-S' Mac, i personally prefer Windows and IOS ) but apart one of Apple's monitors which looks rather nice albeit pricey there appears not much to use with it, I wonder if it is proving difficult or expensive to develop for...
I get the Thunderbolt technology and approach but it is a departure from USB and FireWire as it is more a bus extension rather than peripheral interface, interesting stuff.
Simon
Posted on: 28 January 2012 by Tog
Thunderbolt offers both speed and flexibility - although it is still young and even Apple have slightly different implementations to differentiate MacBook Airs and their MacBook Pros.

In theory a cinema display with thunderbolt can host Ethernet, esata, hd video and thunderbolt HDDs at very fast speeds.

Job done

Tog