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Best DAC for 27" iMac

Hello everyone! I have a question I'm sure somebody can answer for me.
I have a 27"iMac with my entire music collection on there. I have my speakers hooked up through my Sony DA4ES Receiver via interconnects and a Y-Splitter
I want to get the most out of my audio for music listening purposes. I know the next thing that will improve my audio the most is getting a DAC. I would like to know which DAC you guys would recommend me to use. I have a budget in mind of $800 or below. I would like the feedback of those who also have an iMac as well to see what their experiences are with a DAC. I'd like to thank everybody who reads this in advance and for their input.

Cheers,
Robin
128x128mrrobinchen
mrrobinchen's avatar
mrrobinchen OP
6 posts
 
Will this toslink cable be good enough or should i invest in something with a better build quality?
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022902&p_id=1557&seq=1&format=2
ballan
184 posts
 
The Mono Price cable isn't "better". If you really want an optical cable that's "better", look at the VanDenHul Opticoupler and Wireworld SuperNova 6. Both of these cables can be made with "mini" on one end and "standard" on the other. They are true "polished glass" fibers.

iTunes will not play FLAC, but it seems like you are already in the process of reripping your collection. AIFF or Apple Lossless are the best to use with a Mac/iTunes. Apple Lossless takes up about half the space and sounds the same (to me), and it can always be transcoded into other "bit perfect" formats using third party software programs.
afranta
180 posts
 
I just got an Aune Mini USB DAC. It's cheap and, in my office setup (with an iMac and Apple Lossless files), sounds terrific. It's got a headphone amp (reputedly a clone of the Graham Slee Novo) that sounds good, too. WAY under your budget, and maybe worth a try for that reason alone.
mrrobinchen's avatar
mrrobinchen OP
6 posts
 
I would like to thank everybody for their informative feedback. For now I will get the cable from mono price and I'll let you guys know how much difference in terms of SQ i notice.
Cheers and happy listening,
Robin
aberyclark
1,355 posts
 
From what I understand, the DACs in most modern receivers are more than adequate unless you want to spend $1000 + for an outboard DAC.
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