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iMac DAC setup?

post #1 of 15
12/19/10 at 5:58pm
Thread Starter 

New to the forum.  Been reading up for only a couple weeks.  Loving it here so far.

 

Have a couple setups in mind.  The tube amps listed are ones I am interested in.  The DAC options are ones I would like others opinions and thoughts on.  

 

Budget is already stretched so cant really go any higher than what these setups total (even though all three are different lol)

 

Also curious if I need the USB link for all three setups or just the EE MiniMax?  Thought it might help cut jitter on the other setups as well? no?

 

 

1.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Eastern Electric minimax DAC -> Woo6 (Black) w/Sophia Princess.

 

2.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Nuforce HDP (Silver) -> Woo6 (Silver) w/Sophia Princess.

 

3.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Nuforce HDP (Black) -> Wait for new 2011 DarkVoice 337 to be released. (Black ;))

 

 

Have to match duh haha.  Sophia Princess worth the 150 (could I find it cheaper elsewhere or is there a better tube option out there)

 

Any help would be awesome guys thanks :)

Walt

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post #2 of 15
12/21/10 at 11:15am

Most newer iMacs have optical out. All the DACs you list have optical in (just need an adapter).  The EE has usb as well. So not sure you would need the Bel Canto Link.  Don't rule out a firewire DAC if you plan on using with a mac for a while.

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post #3 of 15
12/22/10 at 8:35am

I have been using digital audio output through optical link on various models of iMac (current one is the latest 21.5" Core i5 model) until recently when Hiface EVO USB-to-SPDIF converter has been installed. Improvement in sound quality with same DAC / amplifier / speakers is not marginal. Moreover most built-in USB interface on many DAC models are of sub-standard. So the Bel Canto USB Link soes serve a good purpose just like Hiface or Hiface EVO from M2Tech and Digital Interface from Audio-GD. The jitter is much reduced as compared with TOSLink optical link.

 

iMac (USB 2.0) > Hiface EVO (coaxial) > Cambridge Audio DACMagic > Behringer Sonic Ultramizer > KingRex T-20 Class-T Amplifier > KEF iQ10 Speakers

 

By the way my iMac has always been booted into 64-bit mode permanently since day one and Hiface driver from M2Tech works in 64-bit environment without any issue. Soon the Cambridge Audio DACMagic (built with dual WM8740) will be replaced by Audio-GD NFB-12 (built with dual WM8741).


Edited by littletree76 - 12/22/10 at 8:49am
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post #4 of 15
12/22/10 at 3:24pm
Thread Starter 

Littletree that HiFace Evo looks awesome.  A little more expensive than the Bel Canto.  I read this in a review of the Bel Canto...

 

-- "With the Mac, the Bel Canto needs to be selected with the Audio Midi Set-Up utility and have its sample rate set to match that of the music to be played. (Go to Applications/Utilities/Audio Midi Set-Up; in the right-hand portion of the panel, select the Bel Canto as the output device; then click on Properties at the left.) If you don't do this, the Link has no way of knowing what the file's sample rate is—unlike a specific audio serial format, such as AES/EBU or S/PDIF, USB doesn't include a data field to specify sample rate, but defaults to the sample rate of whatever was the last file played, using the host computer's sample-rate converter to transcode the audio data. Some programs, such as Peak, use the Mac's CoreAudio interface to switch the USB datastream to whatever is required, but with iTunes on the Mac, you need to manually change the sample rate with Audio Midi Set-Up whenever you select a file with a different sample rate. Otherwise, you'll get no audible benefit from playing a hi-rez file." --

 

Does the EVO select the sample rate for me depending on whichever file I play once I select it in Audio MDMI Setup?  Or is it the same story as the Bel Canto?

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post #5 of 15
12/23/10 at 4:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElectroNut View Post

New to the forum.  Been reading up for only a couple weeks.  Loving it here so far.

 

Have a couple setups in mind.  The tube amps listed are ones I am interested in.  The DAC options are ones I would like others opinions and thoughts on.  

 

Budget is already stretched so cant really go any higher than what these setups total (even though all three are different lol)

 

Also curious if I need the USB link for all three setups or just the EE MiniMax?  Thought it might help cut jitter on the other setups as well? no?

 

 

1.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Eastern Electric minimax DAC -> Woo6 (Black) w/Sophia Princess.

 

2.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Nuforce HDP (Silver) -> Woo6 (Silver) w/Sophia Princess.

 

3.)  iMac -> Bel Canto USB Link -> Nuforce HDP (Black) -> Wait for new 2011 DarkVoice 337 to be released. (Black ;))

 

 

Have to match duh haha.  Sophia Princess worth the 150 (could I find it cheaper elsewhere or is there a better tube option out there)

 

Any help would be awesome guys thanks :)

Walt



My first advice would be to try the iMac optical out to connect directly from the mac to the DAC via mini-Toslink -> Toslink (in my humble opinion the iMac's optical output is very good, it allows to reach 24Bits/192Khz and even more ! I use a DAC 19-DSP connected directly via optical to my iMac since more than 7 months and i can't complaint about this...).

 

For the DAC i would advice a Yulong D100 or Audio GD units... The Darkvoice 337 is available in 2010 edition, but i can manage to find you a reseller that can guarantee you to have the Yulong D100 AND the Darkvoice 337 "2011 Edition" as soon as it will be available.

 

I know there are excellent USB -> spdif RCA but you can buy it After the DAC, so you can compare if there's real increase in SQ or not...


Edited by cheaphifi - 12/23/10 at 4:28am
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post #6 of 15
12/23/10 at 7:08am

Hiface Evo requires proprietary driver (installed in Mac OS 10.6.5 as Unix kernel extension file Hiface.kext) to provide asynchronous transfer mode. In Audio MIDI Setup utility, sample rate can be fixed freely at 44.1/48KHz/64KHz/88.2KHz/96KHz and bit depth at 2ch-32bit. The settings never change regardless of MP3 files played through iTunes 10.1.1 and these files are ripped from original recordings on CDs with sample rate of 44.1KHz (I do not have files with different sample rates to try). So I suppose Hiface Evo does not behave like Bel Canto USB Link as sample rate selected for Hiface Evo in Audio MIDI Setup (96KHz) can be different from sample rates of MP3 files in iTunes library (comprises of 9152 MP3 song files with only 44.1KHz sample rate).

 

Audio-GD DAC19-DSP come with DSP1 processor built into SPDIF receiver for coaxial/optical digital inputs. Thus the DSP1 processor would have removed jitter from optical link and not because iMac optical output is good. Not all models of DAC produced by Audio-GD come with the DSP1 processor, that is the reason why Audio-GD provides Digital Interface standalone unit with DSP3 processor for these cheaper DAC models.

 

Whether you need Bel Canto USB link or not depends on design of SPDIF receiver in digital input section of DAC, grades of subsequent audio equipments (to hear subtle difference) and your expectation. If you can put up with the sound quality of your audio chain (source > DAC > pre/power amplifier > headphone/speaker) without the USB link, then just take the USB link as bonus. The decision is relative rather than absolute.

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post #7 of 15
12/24/10 at 8:20pm
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the input and suggestion :)  Ill definitely keep that in mind too.

 

You've been a bit help littletree.  Ill get my head around some of that info so I have a better full understanding.

 

Much thanks guys! :)

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post #8 of 15
12/30/10 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 

Am now stuck between the Benchmark DAC1 and the EE MiniMax DAC.

 

One being 995 and the other 750.  Can anyone comment on the sound difference etc?

The DAC1 I can plug and play using the built in HPA2 headphone amp and continue to save for a dedicated amp in the future...

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post #9 of 15
12/31/10 at 8:40pm
Thread Starter 

No one :/ 

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post #10 of 15
1/2/11 at 6:13am

 

Based on the review form 6Moons, I would go with the Eastern Electric.  I also owned their cd player a while ago and was impressed with everything about it.  

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post #11 of 15
1/3/11 at 7:23pm

I run an iMac at work for digital music playing.  I have used the optical out, and it works fine.  I upgraded to the "Halide Bridge" cable which does the USB - Coax conversion, needs no driver, but only goes up to 24/96, which works fine for my music collection.

 

OTOH, the Benchmark, and Lavry USB DACs with built in headphone amplifiers are pretty nice too.  These DACs tend to be analytical though, and I prefer a slightly different sound, as you can see in my sig.  I owned the Lavry Black DA10 for several years, and really enjoyed it as a DAC, before getting the W4S DAC2.

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post #12 of 15
1/4/11 at 3:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ElectroNut View Post

Am now stuck between the Benchmark DAC1 and the EE MiniMax DAC.

 

One being 995 and the other 750.  Can anyone comment on the sound difference etc?

The DAC1 I can plug and play using the built in HPA2 headphone amp and continue to save for a dedicated amp in the future...


 

The Benchmark DAC1 is a good choice, but i saw several reviews comparing this to a Yulong D100 and in the DAC section and headphone Amp section the Yulong D100 seems to have the advantage (http://www.playwares.com/xe/14040537).

The EE MiniMax DAC integrate the ESS9018 but suffer from a faulty conception (imho), there are 15cm wires transporting the signal above the DAC Board (you can see this on all the pictures showing the inside like this one : http://www.morningstaraudio.com/images/DAC-top-cover-removed-photo.jpg), the direct consequence of this can be seen on the S/N ratio : 95db for the Solid State output and 90db for the tube output...

 

If the choice must be between only the Benchmark DAC1 and the EE MiniMax DAC, it's the Benchmark DAC1 100% without hesitation, but if you can i encourage you to read reviews of the Yulong D100.

Or go to an NFB-10 WM Audio-GD gear if you can afford to wait more than 2 months to be shipped (Excellent products = Too much orders :) ).


Edited by cheaphifi - 1/4/11 at 3:58am
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post #13 of 15
1/5/11 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 

The Benchmark arrived today ;).  The sound is absolutely incredible.  Very very happy with my decision.  Wanted to thank everyone who gave opinions and advice, much appreciated!  

 

AustinHorn in particular who I've been speaking with via pm.

 

Ill throw up a nice photo in a bit :)

 

Walt

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post #14 of 15
1/5/11 at 3:46pm
Thread Starter 

My wallet looking quite slimmm eek.gif

 

Headphones1280.jpg

Headphones_2_1280.jpg

 

 

...but one very happy man beyersmile.png

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post #15 of 15
1/6/11 at 8:51pm

     Quote:

Originally Posted by littletree76 View Post

I have been using digital audio output through optical link on various models of iMac (current one is the latest 21.5" Core i5 model) until recently when Hiface EVO USB-to-SPDIF converter has been installed. Improvement in sound quality with same DAC / amplifier / speakers is not marginal. Moreover most built-in USB interface on many DAC models are of sub-standard. So the Bel Canto USB Link soes serve a good purpose just like Hiface or Hiface EVO from M2Tech and Digital Interface from Audio-GD. The jitter is much reduced as compared with TOSLink optical link.


Yes, using a USB to SPDIF converter is a big step up from the digital output of a Mac. I'm interested in the Evo myself and I plan to run it off battery power.

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