Dac recommendations for computer audio

1) The Optical Output on a Mac is a non-Standard size, with that said! I'm not aware of any high end Cable vendors making high end Optical Cables with the small connector to fit on a MAC Since its a non-Standard Interface.

Yes I'm sure you can find an adapter! ever time you use and adapter it changes the sound and not in a good way!

Here's the link to amazon to buy it for one penny!
http://www.amazon.com/Toslink-To-Optical-Mini-Adapter/dp/B0002MQGRM

More forums: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=696269

Check out the discussion threads on the Apple website! Not good News! http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1808555

2) USB is the only viable alternative to Firewire Fire Wire DAC are few and far between. There's Apogee DAC's Pro-Audio!, Most DAC's that support Firewire are pro-Audio DAC's and not really intended for home Audio use since Firewire is standard interface for Pro Audio.

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/weiss2/minerva.html

Every DAC out there will sound differently on every system!

The Best Value is a USB DAC is the Music Streamer II+

Its also important to bring music to a store that you know, but once again that showrooom may be using mismatched cables in their system and it will cause their source components to sound bright, harsh etc..

Check out the reviews! for $349.95 its low risk investment! I've sold over 30 and no one has complained that it sounds bright or harsh! With that said there's a lot of cables that can sound bright and harsh. I heard a pair of speaker cables recently that provided a lot of information that were very bright and harsh these sold for over $8000 a pair!

Good luck!

Houston,

You say that you want "analog-like and organic presentation... killer midrange with female vocals, a large soundstage and clearly defined instrument separation".

Before shelling out $3K on a new DAC, you already have a well-regarded DAC that embodies many of these qualities. I own an Alpha. Perhaps the most cost-effective upgrade could be new tubes for the Alpha. I personally found the NOS Sylvania 5751's to be my favorite.

That said, I got an Audio Horizons DAC that bests the Alpha in many areas, although the Alpha definitely sits on the warmer side and is well-suited for music that benefits from that. The Audio Horizons satisfies your "clearly defined instrument separation" better. At half your maximum price closeout, the Audio Horizons would be a good possibility.

Yes, DAC's have come a long way over the years, but the Alpha remains a solid contender with the right tubes and associated equipment.

Just my 2 cents.

Michael

@Kaplandesign: The VanDeHul and WireWorld glass optical cables have custom polished mini terminations. They sound great and are very well built. The "mini toslink" connector is standardized and has been widely used by Apple and Sony for several years.

There are also some great glass mini toslink optical cables starting to be made by companies using them in medical applications. I might even argue that the mini toslink connector is better than the standard toslink. The mini can have a tighter fit.

Michael,

I agree... My 16 bit version of the Alpha is extremely musical. By the way, I have Sylvania 5751 Gold Pins in my Alpha as well! I want my next dac to provide a similar sense of sheer musicality while providing a bit more inner detail to the music. I'm not great at conveying this in words, but hopefully that makes sense. I will definitely take a look at the Audio Horizons Dac. In the meantime, I might benefit from grabbing a better toslink to mini toslink cable than I am currently using... a cheapo cable from Micro Center. I may take a look at the WireWorld cable since my interconnects are WireWorld Eclipse 6's.