Hi All, joined today having been sent to various threads as I researched USB DACs over the last few days. I've not been lazy and have spent a lot of time going through threads on this and similar forums but have not been able to find clear answers to some questions. So I have decided to try asking for specific advise on a new thread.
Even though I have a reasonable A/V set up (total cost about $15000 excluding the TV) which also does a good job with stereo audio, I find that I do most of my listening to music at the desk where my iMac is located. Because of this I relocated an old seperates system (marantz ki sig cd63 II, Nad C340 amp, dunlop systemdek turntable/linn arm) to beside the desk and wall mounted a pair of Mordaunt Short 902i's to either side of the Mac. I had an Edirol UA-1Ex that I had been using as an ADC for vinyl to digital conversion, so I used this as a USB DAC between the Mac and the NAD amp. Wanting to improve my listening experience further, I decided to go the headphone rig route. So My Christmas present from my wife is a pair of Senn HD650's and I have sourced a Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 headphone amp on eBay. In the meantime I have also started to store music on Apple Loss-less files on iTunes.
So obviously my next step is to upgrade the DAC capability of the system. So my questions are as follows:
1. What is the best way to get the iTunes music, and loss-less files in particular, from the Mac (it is the latest model with a 2.8GHz processor) to a DAC. Is it via USB?
2. How do I change the settings in the Mac to get the best results? I think I read somewhere that it can output at 24-bit/96khz or even 192khz. What is the optimum set-up for apple loss-less files going to a DAC capable of 24-bit/192khz input and/or upsampling?
3. Recommendations for a DAC at around $400 - I am not sure yet how much time I will spend listening through the headphones where I will get the real benefit of this upgrade. So far I am considering the Citypulse 2.03e, the Headroom Micro DAC and the upcoming Lotus Acoustics DAC from Audio Magus among others.
Sorry for being so long winded but I was trying to put the questions in context!!
All help and suggestions gratefully received.
Hi All, joined today having been sent to various threads as I researched USB DACs over the last few days. I've not been lazy and have spent a lot of time going through threads on this and similar forums but have not been able to find clear answers to some questions. So I have decided to try asking for specific advise on a new thread.
Even though I have a reasonable A/V set up (total cost about $15000 excluding the TV) which also does a good job with stereo audio, I find that I do most of my listening to music at the desk where my iMac is located. Because of this I relocated an old seperates system (marantz ki sig cd63 II, Nad C340 amp, dunlop systemdek turntable/linn arm) to beside the desk and wall mounted a pair of Mordaunt Short 902i's to either side of the Mac. I had an Edirol UA-1Ex that I had been using as an ADC for vinyl to digital conversion, so I used this as a USB DAC between the Mac and the NAD amp. Wanting to improve my listening experience further, I decided to go the headphone rig route. So My Christmas present from my wife is a pair of Senn HD650's and I have sourced a Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 headphone amp on eBay. In the meantime I have also started to store music on Apple Loss-less files on iTunes.
So obviously my next step is to upgrade the DAC capability of the system. So my questions are as follows:
1. What is the best way to get the iTunes music, and loss-less files in particular, from the Mac (it is the latest model with a 2.8GHz processor) to a DAC. Is it via USB?
2. How do I change the settings in the Mac to get the best results? I think I read somewhere that it can output at 24-bit/96khz or even 192khz. What is the optimum set-up for apple loss-less files going to a DAC capable of 24-bit/192khz input and/or upsampling?
3. Recommendations for a DAC at around $400 - I am not sure yet how much time I will spend listening through the headphones where I will get the real benefit of this upgrade. So far I am considering the Citypulse 2.03e, the Headroom Micro DAC and the upcoming Lotus Acoustics DAC from Audio Magus among others.
Sorry for being so long winded but I was trying to put the questions in context!!
All help and suggestions gratefully received.