Regular or usb DAC for Mac Mini?
Posted by: Matte on 23 July 2008
Which output from the Mac is best to feed a DAC with, USB or optical? Thinking about getting an entry-level dac to play around with, connected to my Mac Mini.
/Mattias
/Mattias
Posted on: 23 July 2008 by pcstockton
Matte,
Welcome to the forum!
I am not sure if it really matters. It would be more an issue of what your DAC has for inputs or the quality of your optical output.
For example, some computer soundcards cannot support full 24 bit / 96 khz audio. Most older ones might go to 24 bit but only 48 Khz. Not a big deal in essence, but it begs many questions about how things are dithered or upsmapled etc... And the quality of said operation.
In that case I would go for a USB DAC.
If your optical output from your computer is "worthy" then a standard DAC will most likely be equal, and in the least, be less expensive.
Lastly, you should ensure that whatever you are using for "extracting" the audio from the computer is "bit-transparent". That much is a given.
That goes for the player, its settings, the soundcard and settings, as well as any converters in the chain.
In a Windows XP application, USB is desirable for completely bypassing the K-mixer, which can wreak havoc on sound quality. Vista addresses this issue.
On a Mac, I think you might only need to ensure your digi output is capable of passing through 24/96 and be bit transparent. Unless your Mac is old you should be fine with its toslink output.
There are other things to do to ensure the best SQ from ANY computer.... but as you will read in other threads, most disregard them.
David Dever seems to have his thumb on the pulse of this issue, and is certainly somewhat of a Mac guru, if not just a computer master in general.
Maybe he can chime in on this thread as well as the "sound quality" thread. But i wouldn't hold my breath.
Welcome to the forum!
I am not sure if it really matters. It would be more an issue of what your DAC has for inputs or the quality of your optical output.
For example, some computer soundcards cannot support full 24 bit / 96 khz audio. Most older ones might go to 24 bit but only 48 Khz. Not a big deal in essence, but it begs many questions about how things are dithered or upsmapled etc... And the quality of said operation.
In that case I would go for a USB DAC.
If your optical output from your computer is "worthy" then a standard DAC will most likely be equal, and in the least, be less expensive.
Lastly, you should ensure that whatever you are using for "extracting" the audio from the computer is "bit-transparent". That much is a given.
That goes for the player, its settings, the soundcard and settings, as well as any converters in the chain.
In a Windows XP application, USB is desirable for completely bypassing the K-mixer, which can wreak havoc on sound quality. Vista addresses this issue.
On a Mac, I think you might only need to ensure your digi output is capable of passing through 24/96 and be bit transparent. Unless your Mac is old you should be fine with its toslink output.
There are other things to do to ensure the best SQ from ANY computer.... but as you will read in other threads, most disregard them.
David Dever seems to have his thumb on the pulse of this issue, and is certainly somewhat of a Mac guru, if not just a computer master in general.
Maybe he can chime in on this thread as well as the "sound quality" thread. But i wouldn't hold my breath.
Posted on: 23 July 2008 by pcstockton
I suppose a GREAT test to find an aswer to your initial question, would come from any Benchmark USB DAC owners.
They could easily listen to the same track, at the same time through both USB and toslink/spdif. Through their player they could toggle between USB ooutput, and the digi output.
That should bear things out a bit.
Does anyone out there have a USB DAC that also has standard inputs that they could perform this test on?
They could easily listen to the same track, at the same time through both USB and toslink/spdif. Through their player they could toggle between USB ooutput, and the digi output.
That should bear things out a bit.
Does anyone out there have a USB DAC that also has standard inputs that they could perform this test on?
Posted on: 24 July 2008 by Matte
Thank you very much for that thorough answer! We basically have the same view on things concerning computer audio. I would greatly appreciate if a Benchmark owner could try what pcstockton suggests.
Posted on: 24 July 2008 by garyi
Hi Matte, if it were my money I would get a standard dac.
The reason being is, if you do enjoy it you will eventually want to free up the laptop or PC, and a standard dac can be used with a Squeezebox, AppleTv or apple airport express.
If you buy a USB dac you will always be tied to plugging it into a computer, a computer you may not want in the same room eventually.
The reason being is, if you do enjoy it you will eventually want to free up the laptop or PC, and a standard dac can be used with a Squeezebox, AppleTv or apple airport express.
If you buy a USB dac you will always be tied to plugging it into a computer, a computer you may not want in the same room eventually.
Posted on: 24 July 2008 by pcstockton
quote:Originally posted by garyi:
If you buy a USB dac you will always be tied to plugging it into a computer, a computer you may not want in the same room eventually.
Gary.
I have seen VERY few USB DACs that dont also have your standard toslink and spdif inputs.
Scott Nixon comes to mind.
But most, and any that should be considered, will be both USB and other.
The only reason at that point to avoid the USB is the added cost.
Posted on: 24 July 2008 by garyi
Fair point.