hyogen
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2012
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bump. curious to see what DAC is in my wife's macbook air (2nd gen)...i think the latest that is out is the 3rd gen.
Compared to my 2010 MacBook Pro 17", the MacBook Air 13" (2012) has (comparatively) superb SQ. With my SE535's I got a lot of hiss from the MBP17, with the Air very little. Was a pleasant surprise - was quite similar to the level of hiss I get with the iPod Classic (latest gen).
I stumbled on this thread looking to find out what DAC my Macbook Air (2011) has. I can do a very short assessment of the sound quality, based on my previous model which was a Macbook Pro (2008). Please bear in mind I'm no expert, and unable to do an A-B comparison.
My old Macbook Pro (2008) had pretty terrible line out: there was clearly audible noise, the overall signal level was quite low (as you'd expect). However, it did have a saving grace: the 3.5mm jack was a combination SPDIF optical out, and therefore could be connected very easily to an external DAC, resulting in an excellent sound quality.
In comparison, my newer Macbook Air (2011), argueably one of the finest laptops ever made, has a standard line out which is pretty damn good and a clearly noticeable improvement. Used with the newer 'EarPods' this results in a modest, but refined sound, with an acceptable soundstage, good clarity, and no noticeable bias for any particular frequencies (highly subjective, I know). I've tried 'improving' the sound using a Fiio e3, and the result was awful.. it totally killed the soundstage and the clarity was ruined. With the correct headphones it is capable of thunderous bass and sub frequencies. I've also done a little audio work on it (using BFD with an electronic drumkit), and the sound is excellent -- even very subtle transients and acoustics well rendered, in my opinion. But unfortunately, I guess to cut costs, there is no combination optical/analogue output.
So in conclusion, most owners of older Apple laptops should be very pleased with the upgraded direct line out in the newer models. But be aware there is no longer a combination optical out, although of course you are free to use a USB DAC which would no doubt provide benefits.
I just received a 2014 MacBook Air. Before that I was on a 2007 MacBook and a 2008 iMac, and most of the time using an Asus MultiMixer DAC to drive my headphones (SRH750DJ, HD280 PRO, PX-95 etc...) because I could hear some hiss on the integrated DAC and the soundstage was kinda okay but not good enough for me.
And here comes the new Air computer in my life. Wow. No matter how loud I put the sound, I can't hear any hiss (the thing I hate the most ) and the harmonics seems much more true than what I had on the basic DAC of those previous mac. I'm not saying that the Asus DAC isn't better (it is) but I can without any problem enjoy my stuff on the integrated chip, when I couldn't bear it on the previous computers.
Good job Apple! Wasn't expecting such a thing in the "cheapest" laptop of the brand!