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Is a DAC Worth It With Airport Express

Hi - hoping I can get some guidance on DAC and whether or not I need one. My current system:

Onkyo SR608
KEF Surround Speakers 3500SE
MacBook Pro w/iTunes

I play my iTunes library on my Onkyo receiver / KEF speakers via Airport Express.

I recently saw the PS Audio Digital Link III available at a pretty reasonable price. I know that this type of DAC (and others I'm sure) make CDs sound better, but I never use any of my CDs anymore. I listen to all my music as described above and use Apple Lossless whenever possible.

Would my setup benefit from the PS Audio product? I would imagine the setup would be Airport Extreme --> PS Audio --> Onkyo Receiver, correct?

Or is the DAC on my Onkyo fine as it is and the PS Audio just a waste of money?

Thanks so much!!!
cg27288
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,449 posts
 
Cg27288 - I use AE with Benchmark DAC1 driving directly power amp. You might encounter few problems:

- digital output on AE is cleaner (only 250ps jitter) than analog output but Toslink might introduce some jitter (that Benchmark DAC1 suppose to suppress)

- AE losses sync at the gap (no streaming to DAC). Benchmark recovers fast but on some other DACs it mutes first second of the track. Possible workaround is to use crossfade in Itunes.

I also use ALAC and as far as I know AE uses this format for transmission making it easier on the processor.

I had Cambridge CD4SE before - a very nice CDP but DAC is much better in every way.
txp1
148 posts
 
A Pacific Valve Moon DAC (now "Fathom") sure made an easily heard improvement in our upstairs small system. I've not had issues with cutouts as the post above describes.
s7horton
1,077 posts
 
I'm using a very similar setup, only I have a the mac mini feeding directly into the ps audio instead of through the AE. I love the set up.
kbarkamian
647 posts
 
How much better any DAC will sound will depend on several factors. First and foremost are your ears and preferences. It'll also depend on the quality of the internal DAC in your AVR, and the overall resolution of the system. If the AVR isn't good enough to show the differences between DACs, then it won't make a difference or not enough of a difference to justify the cost.

I can't say I'd definitely hear any differences or not, as I don't know your gear.
roscoeiii's avatar
roscoeiii
1,155 posts
 
Yes a DAC ought to be a big improvement. Audio out on Apple products have long been a weakness.

But a big factor in how much improvement you get will be how well the DAC handles jitter. After the initial model (which measured well) Airports have become notorious for their high jitter. So a DAC that handles jitter well ought to really help things out.
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