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Cheap audiophile?

R

Rafalski24

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 27, 2009
100
0
Denver, CO
So I may be buying a Hafler TRM8.1 which are amazing nearfield studio monitors. I have no mixer in my room at the moment, and am wonder if the normal headphone out on my uMBP 15" is gonna be up to par. Geffen sells a optical to rca dac for about 50 bucks, would that be better? Is there a usb DAC in that price range I should be looking at?
Thanks guys
 
I would use the onboard output and save up until you can afford a real DAC. There's no reason to waste $50 on a low end DAC that might marginally help your sound.
 
The biggest problem I've had with the output on my MBP is noise. I have a pair of Sennheiser CX300 earbuds, and they are very sensitive (high impedance?) As a result, I usually listen at the lowest volume setting (using option+shift+volume up/down to get a partial "bar"). Since the noise output seems to be fixed, the very low signal is almost overwhelmed by noise. I don't know if it has gotten worse or if I have just started noticing it more, but the noise has really started bothering me. I now listen to music on my desktop PC with whatever integrated sound it has, and it sounds much better.

Since those speakers appear to have their own amplifier, I think you will be fine for noise since you can turn the volume up on the MBP and down on the speakers if necessary.

Besides noise, I don't think I would be able to tell the difference between DACs of even moderate quality.
 
m85476585 said:
I have a pair of Sennheiser CX300 earbuds, and they are very sensitive (high impedance?) As a result, I usually listen at the lowest volume setting (using option+shift+volume up/down to get a partial "bar").
Click to expand...

First off, I had no clue you could do partial bars like that. Awesome.

Secondly, I have the same earbuds and I notice no noise from my PowerBook... it seems quite odd that you're getting it from your MBP. Have you tried other MBP models to see if it's your computer or the model as a whole?

I think the earbuds have a very low impedance... ie, low resistance, which makes normal volume levels almost too loud to take.
 
I can confirm that the unibody macbook pros have this issue. (13 and 15, haven't tried 17 inch)With low impedance devices, you can hear background static. I can hear the noise clear as day with my Shure SE530s, UE 10vis and Shure SCL4s etc etc... I don't doubt that high end audio equipment will pick it up as well. I haven't tried hooking it up to my JBL studio monitors yet though.
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
First off, I had no clue you could do partial bars like that. Awesome.

Secondly, I have the same earbuds and I notice no noise from my PowerBook... it seems quite odd that you're getting it from your MBP. Have you tried other MBP models to see if it's your computer or the model as a whole?

I think the earbuds have a very low impedance... ie, low resistance, which makes normal volume levels almost too loud to take.
Click to expand...

The impedance on these it 16 ohms, which is higher than the normal 8 ohms. I'm not sure I understand how that makes them more sensitive, though.

Apparently noise is a problem on the Penryn MBPs (4,1) based on what I've read here. I haven't tried any other MBPs, but I know there is no noise at all on my desktop (except some pops/clicks caused by the DPC latency problems I'm having on Windows 7, though it is mostly better).

It could be that the noise is getting worse with age as the capacitors wear out. I know my Magsafe has started making audible noise. The amount of noise in the headphone output is the same whether or not the magsafe is plugged in, though. I can also hear some audible noise from the LCD or backlight, especially when I'm on a page that causes it to flicker, like test 4a or 4b fullscreen
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/inversion.php

I don't see any large electrolytic capacitors on the logic board, though (based on iFixit pictures).
 
Thats one of the things I am worried about plugging them directly in. I have thought about buying a DAC in the past with a built in headphone amp. Someone said I should look at the E-MU 0404 USB, it supposedly has a great DAC, a good headphone amp, oh yeah its also a dual XLR high bitrate recording interface. At the moment I don't need it to record, but could see myself using it in the future (mostly audio for video). You think it would be worth the $184 bucks?

Added bonus is that it has balanced line outs :)
 
I don't find the hiss to be that noticeable on my less sensitive Alessandro MS-1s but I could really hear it on the Shures that I don't have anymore. I don't think it will be noticeable enough to bother you on full size speakers, it would depend on you I guess.

For USD99, the Nuforce uDac has been getting a lot of attention recently but I have no first hand experience.

BTW, thanks for the partial volume bar tip, never knew about it! :)
 
Rafalski24 said:
Thats one of the things I am worried about plugging them directly in. I have thought about buying a DAC in the past with a built in headphone amp. Someone said I should look at the E-MU 0404 USB, it supposedly has a great DAC, a good headphone amp, oh yeah its also a dual XLR high bitrate recording interface. At the moment I don't need it to record, but could see myself using it in the future (mostly audio for video). You think it would be worth the $184 bucks?

Added bonus is that it has balanced line outs :)
Click to expand...

I have an E-MU and I'm happy with it. Really nice pre-amps.

I'd try and have a listen before you buy one though.
 
Thought I'd just confirm the noise thing. I have a pair of Denon in-ear (pretty good but probibly not considered audiphile quality), but still with these I get a considerable amount of noise on my alu macbook. Too much to bear actually. I never use them with my mac.
 
Apogee Duet if you want awesome DAC.

oops they are expensive arent they.
 
fibrizo said:
I can confirm that the unibody macbook pros have this issue. (13 and 15, haven't tried 17 inch)With low impedance devices, you can hear background static. I can hear the noise clear as day with my Shure SE530s, UE 10vis and Shure SCL4s etc etc... I don't doubt that high end audio equipment will pick it up as well. I haven't tried hooking it up to my JBL studio monitors yet though.
Click to expand...

I agree. I was pretty surprised how much noise there was when I plug in my Shure SE530s. I'll probably end up getting a pre-amp and a decent set of cans.
 
Rafalski24 said:
So I may be buying a Hafler TRM8.1 which are amazing nearfield studio monitors. I have no mixer in my room at the moment, and am wonder if the normal headphone out on my uMBP 15" is gonna be up to par. Geffen sells a optical to rca dac for about 50 bucks, would that be better? Is there a usb DAC in that price range I should be looking at?
Thanks guys
Click to expand...

Does the uMBP have a headphone output? I don't have a unibody, but every MBP I've ever seen has a line-out. NOT a headphone output.

that said, there are lots of pretty good USB dac's you should consider. And those typically will have a headphone output on them. The internal DAC in all current apple products is junk.
 
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