Mac Laptop & Sound Cards

Wow! Thanks, guys. I actually had the info about the soundcard vs. Mac's internal. I learned that when I had my first One to One at the Apple Store.

I think i will try the outboard DAC and a number of other suggestions. I'm getting addicted to the convenience (and sheer fun) of this system and want to integrate in into my Joule Electra/EAR/Audio Physic system. I've already got 1,300+ songs loaded, including a bunch I bought from iTunes. I do DJ work on the side and intend to work the laptop into that in a big way. Already use it to tell me what I have available.

I use AAC Endcoder at 256 kbps. I am going to burn a CD with a couple of tunes done at both AAC and Apple Lossless and which sounds best. I have checked AAC vs. lower resolution Apple encoder and the AAc sounds more like music. I listened to a tune which sounded like it was distoring my speakers. Under AAC it then sounded like an intentional distortion in the music to make it sound more "analog" like. Instruments were clearer and music was more natural and enjoyable.

Thanks again, everyone.

Tom -

Do Apple Lossless. First of all, as you do more listening, you will end up there anyhow. That is 100% a universally held opinion and a basic tenet to getting the most out of your system.

More to the point, since you are using this professionally, an Apple Lossless file can be converted to an AIFF, WAV or other format that you may want or have to use in the future. An AAC cannot since the data has been lost.

Ckorody,
Is your statement that Macs don't use sound cards universal or particular to laptops? I have a 2 GHz Intel duo core iMac with 1 GB memory.

Rbstehno,
Do you use a computer as a source in your dedicated audio room, and if so what and how? Not sure how this stuff could connect to my vintage Proceed PAV/PDSD preamp/processor.

The idea is intriguing, though.

db

Any idea how much more space a Lossless file takes up compared to an AAC? I have a 320gb external hard drive and will be loading about 5,000 songs and 2,000 photos.

Dbphd - it's universal. The sound card functionality is built-in to each and every Mac regardless of form factor except the servers.

Lossless takes up considerably more space then AAC, but nowhere near as much as WAV or AIFF.

I have about 15,000 songs Apple Lossless songs which is about 1,500 CDs (including extended classical and jazz pieces) on a 400Gb hard drive. It takes up about 335Gb, and I maintain a complete back up on a separate drive. Keep in mind that you never get the full amount of the drive.

Hard to say on pictures since I don't know what size images you shoot, whether you have RAW files, or they are all 800dpi JPGs or what. (It's that whole compression thing again.)

Sounds as though a 350Gb drive will do for a good long while. If you haven't bought one yet, get a 400. Storage is unbelievably inexpensive. A good source is newegg.