2. digital
  3. 150188-132019

USB B to anything else

Hello, I'm going to purchase the Musical Fidelity M5si sooner than later and am just wondering how I can access the DAC if I'm not using a laptop. Maybe this is a naive question, but will I be able to plug my iPad straight into this unit? Is the USB B fairly useless unless you're doing actual computer audio, or are there cables to go from USB B to lightning or even coaxial or anything else?

On another note and out of curiosity, does anyone have experience with the DAC in that unit? I'd be curious to know if it will suffice or if I'll be wanting for a separate DAC.
jawillia
mgattmch
573 posts
 
I use a CableCreation USB C to USB B Printer Cable 6.6 Feet ($6.65 on Amazon) to connect a MacBook Air (running Audirvana Plus) to my McIntosh C50 DAC. Works fine for me and sounds great.
dsoreal
2 posts
 
I’m not sure the above statement is entirely accurate. Yes you can get a lightning to USB cable, but if the device doesn’t support it then you will not have connection. It would actually be my guess that this wouldn’t work but I would refer to the product support site to see if it supports either Mobil or iPad.
jawillia OP
11 posts
 
What about USB B to coaxial? It does seem then that USB B is fairly pointless without a computer. Strange to me why musical fidelity would put that on their integrated amplifiers instead of coaxial or something.
canibefrank
406 posts
 
you gotta hit the dac with the musical goodness before anything else..>preamp>amp
my man
sfar's avatar
sfar
1,761 posts
 
Since you've made the decision to buy the Musical Fidelity DAC you should contact Musical Fidelity directly for guidance. While there are Lightning to USB B cables the DAC you use has to have the internal chip required to access Apple devices directly. In addition, the DAC must not consume more power than the iPad can deliver. Different DACs have different requirements.Yes, there are USB to Coax converters but the same caution would apply, direct your questions to the DAC maker, regardless of which one you buy.
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