[Abovetheair]

Hello,
 
I am looking to upgrade my setup. At the moment I am using a 2006 Mac Mini lined out to a Denon AVR-1600 ->> 2 JVC tall standing speakers + Velodyne VRP 12 inch rear ported series subwoofer. That being said the sound is pretty good just with that, but I am looking to push it to the next level by buying a DAC. What should I go for? Currently I am looking at the Schiit BiFrost. Is that a good option?

 

[brunk]

The problem that you're going to run into is bass management if you're planning on using a standalone DAC. Your least expensive best option would be letting the Velodyne perform the bass management, with the signals for L/R going to the speakers. If you had full range speakers, this would be a non-issue. Therefore, I would recommend experimenting with the Velodyne bass management before buying a DAC. If it's terrible, consider buying full range speakers, or a different receiver that's more musical to satisfy your needs. Room treatments also go a very long way to improving your sound if you haven't done so, as the standalone DAC will have no Room Correction algorithm. Using REW and Audiolense on your PC would suffice for that issue. It's just a whole new can of worms you're opening when trying to tackle it this way.
 
 
Honestly, your best option would be to buy an integrated stereo amplifier with a  HT bypass feature....along with a standalone DAC. I highly recommend the Yamaha A-S2000 that I personally own. It's really nice because you just dont find balanced inputs and amps on integrateds in the sub-5k range, and it really performs. It's 190wpc, not 90 that most people fail to read about if you wire accordingly. I also believe that is underrated as I almost never turn the volume past 1/3 because it will start to rattle the entire room lol. That's with 4ohm 86db speakers that can handle 300w/rms... 60 lbs. of pure musical enjoyment
 
Hope that helps.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Quote:

Hello,
 
I am looking to upgrade my setup. At the moment I am using a 2006 Mac Mini lined out to a Denon AVR-1600 ->> 2 JVC tall standing speakers + Velodyne VRP 12 inch rear ported series sub- wwoofer. That being said the sound is pretty good just with that, but I am looking to push it to the next level by buying a DAC. What should I go for? Currently I am looking at the Schiit BiFrost. Is that a good option?

DAC Destroyer, USB DAC, $50, eBay. (PCM2704 DAC chip)
Muse DA 20, USB DAC, $55, eBay, (PCM2707 DAC chip)
SMSL SD-1955, USB, coaxial optical DAC. $100, eBay (AD-1955 DAC chip)
 
Hopefully your Mac Mini will recognise a USB DAC when plugged in.