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

Good points, Tobias. One other might be that you will be taking up one USB port with your DAC and if you only have two on a Mini and need one for keyboard and the other for a DAC...may be time for a hub. Anyway, I'm a Mac guy and have had two iBooks. Never had an issue with any USB externals. YMMV.

Regarding using the Toslink on a MacMini or Tower - wouldn't be my choice. I'd do that conversion (to SPDIF) via USB inside the DAC rather than inside the computer. Again, Too much going on in the lively electronic environment inside a computer. Take it out of the box and give it to the folks who are all about audio - that's what I'd do. Just one opinion though.

Marco

jax2 - i don't understand about not using toslink, do that conversion out of the box. what conversion? it is a digital signal coming out of the mini or airport express going into a external dac via a toslink cable. no different than going out a usb port except i can use any dac that uses a toslink connection instead of the few that use usb.

I don't think it's the same thing, Rbstehno. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong - The digital signal generated by the computer needs to be converted to a signal that is 'understood' by the DAC... The data coming through USB needs to be converted to S/PDIF in order for the DAC to understand it. In the case of a USB DAC that is done in the DAC. The way you're doing it it is done in your computer. There are many folks here who know a whole lot more than me on this subject. Perhaps someone else can chime in on the subject. I am not certain that where the conversion is done makes a big difference, but my gut instinct tells me, as I said, to give it to the folks who are passionate about the music, and take it out of the noisy electronic environment of the computer. Perhaps I'm wrong. Stranger things have happened.

Marco

Gonzo1,

You have a nice simple system that is the direction I would like to go except for the YBA amplification that I like very much - very musical.

Now a few questions for anyone:

1.) How convientient is the Mac Book for playing cds?

2.) Can you play DCDs as well with another USB cable for the picture to the HDTV?

3.) How many cds can be saved on an 80 gig internal drive in lossless?

"Now a few questions for anyone:

1.) How convientient is the Mac Book for playing cds?

2.) Can you play DCDs as well with another USB cable for the picture to the HDTV?

3.) How many cds can be saved on an 80 gig internal drive in lossless?"

1. It's not. The only way I will be using the Macbook is with the music ripped in Itunes, stored on my hard drive, and replayed from the hard drive. If I need to play a disc without ripping it, I will play it on my Oppo.

2. While It will output video to a TV through the mini-dvi port, I probably will not use it for that, again, that is what the Oppo is for. I will have it hooked up though to watch tv shows downloaded from Itunes.

3. 80 G? maybe 150 to 175 albums. I'd still use an external HD though.

I really like it so far. I ripped all the new Donald Fagen discs from his new box set "The Nightfly Trilogy", created a "smart playlist" with only those songs and hit play. The monitor went to "sleep," the music kept playing through all three albums.

I haven't yet sold my Primare CD player. The sound is more full and the bass is deeper with the spinner, but there is more detail with the Macbook/PSaudio. And of course the Macbook is so much easier to use and its nice not having discs laying around.