whats the easy way to get good quality from a mac?

Posted by: sjw on 03 April 2012

at the moment the mac mini goes straight into a dacmagic then 202/200

the mac is stand alone and is connected with an optical lead

 

by comparison the cd5xs knocks spots off it and i would like a simple high quality way of using the 160gb of music on the mac!

 

how do i get near cd quality of the apple lossless files played back

please?

 

a dealer said i needed a nd5xs but the router is in another part of the house and i want to make life simple i don't care what a unp is etc

 

better dac to connect from the mac mini??

 

as for the settings on the mac i asked before and got lots of replies and just didn't really understand it , Cambridge audio were fk all help - a series of support emails that were no use

 

thanks stephen

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by RaceTripper

Mac Mini -> DAC -> 202 should do the job.

 

I have ND5 XS and plan to get a Mac Mini, to go with my 202. I might go straight from the Mac Mini optical out into the ND5 XS tosklink input (using it like a DAC), or I might stream via UPnP. Haven't decided which way to go. Once I have the Mini I will see what has the better balance of convenience and sound quality. 

 

I already stream from my MacBook Pro to the ND5, so getting that to work is not an issue (and is pretty easy to setup).

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by Guido Fawkes

Mac Min (assume its in new one with no integral CD) so it is a very low jitter/low noise device. 

All you need to do is use a high quality optical lead to the Naim DAC for superb quality playback. 

 

[If it is an older Mac Mini then try a Halide Bridge cable (USB at one end and BNC straight into the Naim DAC at the other) - instead of optical on your Mac you just select the Halide Bridge]. 

 

Just replace you Cambridge Audio box with the Naim DAC is a straight swap and a truly massive upgrade - nothing else required. 

 

The ND5 only makes sense to me if you are wanting to do UPnP streaming .. if you are then yes it is a good way to go. 

 

To optimise iTunes, turn off the equaliser and set the volume to max and use your 202 to control the volume. if you are using CD rips then set the Audio Midi (just run Audio Midi set-up to 16/44.1 or if you are running a mixture of CD rips and downloads try 24/96. 

 

That's it ..... 

 

Cambridge Audio used to be a great amplifier (P60) maker and made the ground braking R50 transmission line speaker and the amazing CD1, but now they are another bit of the Chinese company IAG. 

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by RaceTripper

Can a Mac Mini output 24/192?

 

I have FLAC 24/192 files, which I can stream at full resolution to the ND5. If I decide instead to use the optical connection between a Mac Mini and the Toslink input on the ND5 can I still output 24/192, or am I limited to 24/96?

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by Yippedidou

Can a Mac Mini output 24/192?

 

Yes but you need the proper software to replay. Many on the market, just launch a Google search.

 

nDac is mandatory for Mac replay. I have older Mini so I use an USB/Spdif converter into the nDac. And even then, with 16/44,2, I still find that playing the CD is better even if its not a Naim CD Player. More airy, more depth. But its Hi-Rez replay that it becomes really interesting with the Mini set up.

 

My next step is to try one of the Naim's network players for a couple months, probably a NDX and listen to the differences between Mac Mini/USB-Spdif converter and the network player.

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by novak

I have the latest Mac Mini and the NDAC, connected by a Wireworld Supernova Optical lead. Sounds fantastic. At the moment I use Fidelia playback software, which sounds good, but there are others which I'm sure offer the same bit perfect quality. I noticed a big improvement when I switched to playing FLAC files from Mp3.

 

Hoep that helps. 

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by Yippedidou

I noticed a big improvement when I switched to playing FLAC files from Mp3.


+1. Another Google search on CD ripping is useful if you want to know more. I use FLAC and AIFF.

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by RaceTripper
Originally Posted by Yippedidou:

Can a Mac Mini output 24/192?

 

Yes but you need the proper software to replay. Many on the market, just launch a Google search.

 

nDac is mandatory for Mac replay. I have older Mini so I use an USB/Spdif converter into the nDac. And even then, with 16/44,2, I still find that playing the CD is better even if its not a Naim CD Player. More airy, more depth. But its Hi-Rez replay that it becomes really interesting with the Mini set up.

 

My next step is to try one of the Naim's network players for a couple months, probably a NDX and listen to the differences between Mac Mini/USB-Spdif converter and the network player.

Well, I've tried Pure Music (15 day demo) and I'm limited to 24/96 in the audio setup. Same thing when I run Midi Audio Setup. I assume the optical out on my MacBook Pro does not support 24/192. 

Posted on: 03 April 2012 by Yippedidou

I use Amarra with my NAS and Mac Mini and can play 24/192 thorugh my converter . But if you use the Dac Magic, I just remember that it is limited to 96 right?

Posted on: 04 April 2012 by BigH47

"nDac is mandatory for Mac replay." 

 

Yes you can't get a sound out of without one. 

Posted on: 04 April 2012 by RaceTripper

Channel D responded to my inquiry an to say I cannot get 24/192 from the optical audio out. It is a limitation of my MacBook Pro audio out to 24/96. I would have to use a hardware USB to S/PDIF converter to support 24/192. 

 

I will stick to streaming for now. If/when I get a new Mac Mini (and I'll wait until Apple introduces a new one), I'll revisit connecting audio out to the ND5 directly.