Dummy Guide on What's Needed to hook up Mini Mac

Tpk123,

I did some looking at the Apple web site and saw the Mac Book laptop. It has it all. Does this seem like a good option?

I can get a Mac Book laptop for $1099 and a PS Audio Link III USB DAC for $995. Is this a good option?

Can I send a signal wireless from the Mac Book to the USB DAC or is there sound quality loss?

I am not sure about the Mac books, but I was thinking the iMac would have larger hard drives...I only know b.c I looked into it. I believe you can send wireless signals through a squeezebox, but I am unsure about sound degredation. I have not done coputer audio yet, this is just what I have researched. I am still on the fence.

Good thread.

Is there a way to get 24 bit/96 kHz PCM out of a Mac? A sound card? Software? I have a G5.

Thanks.

Bob R.

Rmrobinson1957, your Mac with iTunes will output 24/96 over USB and Firewire but if your DAC won't convert it you're out of luck. Just make sure you get an appropriate external DAC.

I use an M-Audio Audiophile USB and an Apogee Mini-DAC. The M-Audio is OK for the money and converts both ways (I use it to rip cassettes) while the DAC-only Apogee is a top contender at its price point. Both will do 24/96. I have no personal experience with such hi-res files, though.

You configure the computer's output with the Audio MIDI Setup application in the Utilities folder of your Mac.

Mjcmt, I like a laptop for use in the listening room but a noisy hard drive would bother me. The internal drive in my Mac PowerBook is quiet enough but it is too small for a large collection of music, even using Apple Lossless compression. YMMV of course. I myself would look for a couple of whisper-quiet externals (main and backup) with large capacity and a FireWire interface.

"I did some looking at the Apple web site and saw the Mac Book laptop. It has it all. Does this seem like a good option?

I can get a Mac Book laptop for $1099 and a PS Audio Link III USB DAC for $995. Is this a good option?

Can I send a signal wireless from the Mac Book to the USB DAC or is there sound quality loss? "

That's what I have as of last friday. The PS Audio sounds great. I do have twin Western Digital 500G HDs for storage and backup. You can use a sonos or Squeezebox to get the music to the DAC wirelessly but this does add some more hardware. I found the squeezebox on its own in stock form did not sound as good as the Macbook directly into the dac. If I'm not ripping music I can not hear the Macbbok.

Next will be top get an ipod touch to remote control itunes.