iMac owner; Do I need an external sound card?

[krmathis]

Need and benefit from is two different thing.
You definitely do not need an external sound card or DAC. But you will most certainly benefit, sound wise, from using one. Since you can acquire an external one of higher quality than the built in one.

Unless you need input capabilities I say you are better off with a DAC/Amp than a sound card. But of course the choice is yours.

 

[captian73]

Thank you

 

[keezzzz]

Hi, i'm using a macbook and a acer laptop.
Better result with a (usb) Dac/amp , more power then the soundcard inside the mac or laptop

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by keezzzz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, i'm using a macbook and a acer laptop. Better result with a (usb) Dac/amp , more power then the soundcard inside the mac or laptop

But buying such gear isn't about power, it's about getting better sound than onboard is capable of. I went through this ages ago, and originally thought my onboard was all right - until I got good phones and they revealed it was quite average, and not doing the phones justice.

 

[ax7]

Hey, I just got, as in recieved it today, a hotaudio usb dac for my imac. Much cleaner and better separation than the in-built sound card - keep in mind this is with about 2hrs worth of use. They go fairly cheap, might actually be below the level your looking at.
HOTAUDIO.COM - HAND MADE AUDIO PERFECTION
I got the straight version as I'm plugging into an amp, but he's got a few choices including headphone amps.

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ax7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey, I just got, as in recieved it today, a hotaudio usb dac for my imac. Much cleaner and better separation than the in-built sound card - keep in mind this is with about 2hrs worth of use. They go fairly cheap, might actually be below the level your looking at. HOTAUDIO.COM - HAND MADE AUDIO PERFECTION I got the straight version as I'm plugging into an amp, but he's got a few choices including headphone amps.

That was my first upgrade from onboard. It's ok, and a cheap fix if people experience poor onboard or interference, which happen more with laptops.

Don't believe the hype though, it's not as claimed in some places 'equal to DACs costing hundreds more'. Now I've got such a DAC, that claim is ridiculous. There is no comparison between a $500 DAC and the hot audio stuff.

And it was one of many products since that has seen me refute the idea of burn in; it just doesn't change one bit, despite the maker asserting 30hrs are needed.

 

[ax7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing /img/forum/go_quote.gif That was my first upgrade from onboard. It's ok, and a cheap fix if people experience poor onboard or interference, which happen more with laptops. Don't believe the hype though, it's not as claimed in some places 'equal to DACs costing hundreds more'. Now I've got such a DAC, that claim is ridiculous. There is no comparison between a $500 DAC and the hot audio stuff. And it was one of many products since that has seen me refute the idea of burn in; it just doesn't change one bit, despite the maker asserting 30hrs are needed.

Yeah, I've always been a bit dubious about burn in on solid state devices. It makes sense on speakers or headphones with moving parts, but I've never got how it would work with a bunch of transistors and software.

Got it for exactly that, just a first step to keep me happy for a couple of years till I can justify spending more. No point getting a dac that costs more then my amp, speakers or headphones individually.

 

[Drubbing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ax7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Got it for exactly that, just a first step to keep me happy for a couple of years till I can justify spending more. No point getting a dac that costs more then my amp, speakers or headphones individually.

That's good - I'm not bagging it, just cautioning against high expectations, as it was here that it's been puffed up to something it isn't.

I don't know about getting a DAC that's costs more than your phones; I got one that cost more than my most expensive phones, but then I have 3 phones, so it becomes better value that way.