Has any one used a dac converter to get better audio quality out to a home stereo? I have some Definitive Technology bp10 speakers powered by an Adcom amp. Id like to play music from my laptop if there was a way to get quality audio out. Any suggestions?
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dac
- Thread starter Outkast27
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With no price range or connection preferences, nobody can give you more opinions than a google search would.
That is one I have been reading about. Has any one here have any experience with a dac on their macbook pro and home audio?
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If I want to play movies from my macbook to my surround sound, is there a dac that is 5.1 surround?
If the file is encoded properly, a simple optical cable to your receiver would do the trick.
Not sure what difference it will make, but isn't the fiio e7 meant for headphones? What bit rate is your music? I use a DAC and Amp (JDS labs) for my headphones and bit rate does make a difference too in quality. May want to look into FLAK/Lossless. 
my mbpr doesnt have a optical out.
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Not sure what difference it will make, but isn't the fiio e7 meant for headphones? What bit rate is your music? I use a DAC and Amp (JDS labs) for my headphones and bit rate does make a difference too in quality. May want to look into FLAK/Lossless.
I plan on playing flac and streaming pandora. I still need a dac though.
I am using this and it rocks:
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/audio-interfaces/komplete-audio-6/
If you just want a stereo output to your hifi system, this might be overkill, though. I use it mainly for its mic inputs.
(Note that there are similar offerings on the market which are surely as good as this one.)
Hope this helps,
Etienne
http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/audio-interfaces/komplete-audio-6/
If you just want a stereo output to your hifi system, this might be overkill, though. I use it mainly for its mic inputs.
(Note that there are similar offerings on the market which are surely as good as this one.)
Hope this helps,
Etienne
Actually, it does http://m.tuaw.com/2012/06/14/attention-world-the-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-does-have-o/
You simply need an adapter or special cable. Such as anything from this page: http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022902
A friend of mine is doing just that on his retina.
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Maybe this one http://www.jdslabs.com/item.php?fetchitem=39, reviewers rate it fairly high....
Casper
Casper
If I use a apple airport express into a dac then feed that into my receiver, would that improve sound quality? Do you loose quality by streaming? Even if Im playing flac files? Im new to this and am soaking up all the info i come across. Ive been googlling as well, thanks for the help guys!
The airport express compresses audio so you would lose quality.
Have you taken a look at thosr optical cables yet?
Not yet, my preamp does not have a optical in, I will be upgrading it. Is a optical in and a toslink 2 different connections? Do either of them bypass the mac internal dac?
Yes, optical out bypasses the DAC, for a very simple reason.
DAC is short for Digital to Analog Conerter. Optical signal is 100% digital, thus it isn't passed through a DAC until you make it do so. A regular 3.5mm jack is analog, so it has passed through the MBP's DAC.
DAC is short for Digital to Analog Conerter. Optical signal is 100% digital, thus it isn't passed through a DAC until you make it do so. A regular 3.5mm jack is analog, so it has passed through the MBP's DAC.
ok, so would I need an external dac? or just run the optical out into the receiver?
You may want to check in with the folks that frequent the Digital Audio forum here on MR.
There are a couple of ways to get good sound out of your Mac... one is using the optical cables into an external DAC as mentioned above, but if your receiver/amp lacks a DAC with optical input, you may find the choices rather limited and/or expensive. Stand alone DAC pre-amps tend to be targeted at audiophiles and therefore pricey.
An affordable way to get good audio out of a Mac (or any computer really) is with a USB audio interface (with built in DAC). There are tons of options from $100-$1000 with decent ones going for as little as $200-$250. Apogee is a well respected company that makes these kinds of audio interfaces that target the Mac market exclusively. Their Apogee One for the Mac is perfect for quality stereo output even if you won't make much use of the input capabilities.
There are a couple of ways to get good sound out of your Mac... one is using the optical cables into an external DAC as mentioned above, but if your receiver/amp lacks a DAC with optical input, you may find the choices rather limited and/or expensive. Stand alone DAC pre-amps tend to be targeted at audiophiles and therefore pricey.
An affordable way to get good audio out of a Mac (or any computer really) is with a USB audio interface (with built in DAC). There are tons of options from $100-$1000 with decent ones going for as little as $200-$250. Apogee is a well respected company that makes these kinds of audio interfaces that target the Mac market exclusively. Their Apogee One for the Mac is perfect for quality stereo output even if you won't make much use of the input capabilities.