iMac advice needed.

[loui29]

i'm thinking of trading in my G4 powerbook (4 years old) and getting one of the newly restyled 24" iMacs. they look spectacular. i currently use a sonica theater external soundcard with my powerbook to my stereo or my grado sr 225 and audio technica W100. (which i plug directly into the sonica theater's headphone out)

i'm happy with both sets of cans i currently own but feel they are not showing me nearly what they are capable of. i could realistically see putting $500 aside for this. what advice can you give me? thanks.

 

[Alexander1]

I believe the iMac's have optical out, which means that if you pick up a DAC and a Toslink cable, you can have some great sound coming out of your mac. If you were to pick up a modest DAC in the $200 range, you'd have another $300 to spend on an amp.

Your current cans don't necessarily need the juice of a $300 amp, and you can always start out small and upgrade incrementally (and thereby save $300 in the short term).

I think making these two upgrades would really do your cans justice and still stay within your budget.

 

[loui29]

thanks. i was wondering about the digital out. i've noted quite a few people make mention of it in other forums i've read through. in your experience, what (if any) would be the benefit of going usb?

 

[bigshot]

Or you could save a lot of money and just get a USB line out and use the iMac's internal DAC (which is probably as good as any in that price range).

See ya
Steve