[CalvinandHobbes2020]

I'm not a huge stickler for mobile sound quality as I'm usually listening in loud environments such as coffee shops anyhow. BUT, the output via the 3.5mm jack on a 2021+ Macbook Pro 14" sounds REALLY good.

Typically, I listen to streamed music from PC or Mac laptops via an Audioquest Dragonfly Red. I know there are definitely better sounding portable DACs around, but the Dragonfly Red has a punchy and reasonably refined sound that I've found to better the built-in DACs in most laptops. I was listening via my 14" MBP / Dragonfly Red DAC in a coffee shop when it occurred to me to plug my cheap and cheerful Sennheiser HD 400S directly into the Macbook's 3.5mm headphone jack. Immediately and quite surprisingly, the sound seemed more expansive, yet also more refined in tone. First thing I did was to turn down the volume when using the 3.5mm jack because I thought louder volume via the 3.5mm jack could be a key factor in it seeming to sound better than via the Dragonfly Red. I switched back and forth several times between Dragonfly Red and the 3.5mm jack and my impressions stayed consistent.

I got home and did the same listening comparison between the Dragonfly Red and MBP's 3.5mm jack with Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones. I thought that perhaps slightly better headphones might reveal some advantage of the Dragonfly Red DAC over the 3.5mm output from the Macbook Pro. Nope, same result. the 3.5mm output from the MBP still sounded better. The sound output from the 3.5mm jack sounds both more expansive and also more refined than via the AQ Dragonfly Red DAC. I guess there's no point in wasting my energy carrying around my Audioquest Dragonfly Red DAC and USB-C dongle anymore.

Anyone else have experience with the built-in DACs in recent model Macbook Pros?

Anyone know if the newer Macbook Air laptops with M1 and M2 processors have a similar DAC to the Macbook Pro 14 & 16? If so, that would be a huge selling point for me to get a Mac laptop over a comparably priced PC Ultrabook.

Thanks!

 

[bubukill17]

Yeah, I was just gonna post about this in the other thread but in regards to the MacBook Air M2. I can confirm the DAC on the MacBook Air M2 sounds better than my OPPO-HA2SE, which is an amazing portable DAC device already.
.
Right away, the MacBook Air M2 drives my HD600 like a champ. Separation, layering, soundstage, refinement, resolution, all of it improved. the M2 has a neutral but quite smooth sound quality to it. The OPPO-HA2SE, to my ear, sounds drier and colder in comparison.

I was planning on getting the Mojo 2, but now... I'm quite worried the Mojo 2 does not improve that much in comparison.

 

[LucyWu]

I have a 2021 Macbook Pro 16gb 14inch and I gree that the sound is plenty good for watching movies and casual listening. I use mine mostly for sound design and composition in Ableton Live and the internal dac is perfectly useable for that. I've taken the output and plugged it into my SR1a headphone rig and it is not bad at all in that scenario (and that's a pretty good way of finding bad dacs).

 

[CalvinandHobbes2020]

Thanks @bubukill17 & @LucyWu! Good to know that the Macbook Air M2's DAC also seems to sound decent.

 

[ubs28]

Yes, I posted this last year about my 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro. This sucker even handles the Sennheiser HD800S without breaking sweat. This just proof "audiophiles" waste all their money on headphone amplifiers as it is not needed.

If you use a Chord DAC, you will hear that the DAC of the MacBook Pro has it's shortcomings though. But what do you expect from a laptop? The amplifier is quite as it powers most headphones without problems.

 

[CalvinandHobbes2020]

Yes, I posted this last year about my 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro. This sucker even handles the Sennheiser HD800S without breaking sweat. This just proof "audiophiles" waste all their money on headphone amplifiers as it is not needed.

If you use a Chord DAC, you will hear that the DAC of the MacBook Pro has it's shortcomings though. But what do you expect from a laptop? The amplifier is quite as it powers most headphones without problems.

Actually, the DAC on PC laptops typically sound pretty crappy and don't power more demanding headphones well. My Dragonfly Red sounds clearly better than does the 3.5mm jack output on my Dell XPS 13. I'm listening right now via the 3.5mm jack on my Dell XPS 13 laptop and the sound is pretty thin. Completely different sound with the same inexpensive headphones via my Macbook 14 which I will be switching to shortly.

In terms of DAC quality, I'd rather bring a pair of over-the ear headphones than lug around an external headphone amplifier so what Apple has done with their new Macbooks works great for me.

The speakers on the larger Mac laptops have always been pretty decent. Looks like Apple spent a couple of extra bucks to integrate a better DAC as well. Kudos to them, because that is something that I'm sure 99% of their customers didn't realize at all.

 

[e-dub]

Interesting. I definitely planned on using my portable DAP as a DAC for using my (coming) notebook in the cafe, but I may not have to.

 

[dolomusic]

I have to agree,very spacious and clean I'm listening with blessing 2 on a 14" 2021 MacBook Pro

 

[solid12345]

The speakers on the larger Mac laptops have always been pretty decent. Looks like Apple spent a couple of extra bucks to integrate a better DAC as well. Kudos to them, because that is something that I'm sure 99% of their customers didn't realize at all.

I’m a former graphic designer and used to have arguments all the time with PC fanboys who couldn’t understand the Apple tax. They‘d always price out a PC with what they think is similar specs to try and convince me of all the money I’m wasting, and virtually everytime it would be some washed out TFT monitor and janky soundcard, a ugly bulky beige tower or a million Christmas lights and other cheapo supplements, they can never look beyond the basic cpu or ram. The monitor was always a big one to me as color accuracy and resolution was critical in my job and many times the monitor was almost half the price of the machine contributing to the high cost but they couldn’t understand that desire either.

Does Apple pad the profit margin higher than other manufacturers, of course, but it’s not as high as people think when you take into account the service and ecosystem and frankly it’s worth it to me for a superior OS, quality hardware, and the warranty is fantastic, I’ve seen machines go dead at the office and a quick rush to the Apple Store can get you back up and running in time with a brand new machine to meet a critical deadline in as little as an hour, good luck if you bought from Dell, HP or built your own. Time is money and it’s all a tax write off anyway if you freelance or run a business.

Anyway didn’t mean to make it sound like an Apple ad but I think the point is having a quality DAC goes back to the legacy Jobs left behind that his products should feel classy and upscale even down to the fonts used in the OS. The customers may not notice or can explain why they like Apple but the engineers do care about quality and it translates well. I love my PCs too for gaming but when it comes to getting crap done or enjoying multimedia, I’ll always cherish Macs.

 

[IXOYE]

I can confirm the DAC on the iMac 24 also sounds great.

 

[Metalingus]

M2 14” Macbook Pro here. Listed all my gear. Simply spend money on better but efficient headphones instead of Bulky gear.

 

[bubukill17]

M2 14” Macbook Pro here. Listed all my gear. Simply spend money on better but efficient headphones instead of Bulky gear.

I see you have the Chord Mojo 2. So it does not worth the purchase if you have a M2 MacBook Pro?

 

[Metalingus]

I see you have the Chord Mojo 2. So it does not worth the purchase if you have a M2 MacBook Pro?

Not the Mojo 2, but Mojo.

Mojo is great due to ability to use with different products such as gaming pc or iPad. I need a davc/amp for these purposes anyways.

Are there any audible difference? Yes.

Macbook sounds cleaner. But my Mojo is old and product is outdated by any cheaper dac chinese companies puts out at half price.

Note that this applies for dynamic driver headphones.

I did even test Focal Utopia (2022) on Naim Uniti Atom and 14” MBP in the store there wasn’t any difference. My test tracks were Daft Punk - Within & Tenet Soundtrack.

If you have very sensitive iems or planar magnetic headphones that require very high current you might still need dedicated gear to take maximum from your set of choice.

TLDR; Macbooks can’t destroy external DAC/AMP’s yet, but if you don’t need specific i/o. You get about the same performance.

 

[Robster1958]

M1 MB Pro 14" here:

I recall when purchasing about a year ago, Apple made a (justified) big deal about the headphone output. Its ability to drive high impedance cans (within limits) and the quality of its DAC are both great.

I A/B'd from MB Pro USB C to Burson Playmate to my Senn HD 600 versus Senn straight from MB headphone jack. It was a clear tie. MB jack winner when considering ease of setup, convenience, etc.

 

[feverfive]

I've had my M1Pro 16" MBP for 15+ months now, and I have likewise found the hp out of this machine is pretty damn good. I don't own any high impedance gear as I moved away from desktop systems a decade+ ago (totally portable). However, my MBP is making me think about buying a set of high impedance cans just for science, hahaha.