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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
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.
svenerik
21 posts
 
"Synthfreek
Why the implication that Apple Lossless is anything less than aiff or wav?"

I've heard it said that the sound quality of Apple Lossless can vary based on system loading. So while it should in theory be identical to an uncompressed file, a Lossless file which might sound great on a lightly taxed system could be degraded if decoded by a heavily loaded system. The computer I use for work is also used for music playback. Disc space is cheap, so I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and go with AIFF.

Robin, Once you get your DAC sorted out, I recommend you experiment with Amarra and Pure Music programs. I noticed an immediate difference in my systems, to the point where I have a hard time listening to iTunes with out PM running.
mrrobinchen's avatar
mrrobinchen OP
6 posts
 
Thanks again for everybody's input. I am now using the toslink cable to run digital out to my speakers but I noticed one significant change that I'm not sure if it is normal or not. My speakers now reproduce much more static on some files that I played earlier with the interconnect cables. The file i am playing is in 320mp3. When playing other files in Aiff format or Flac I dont hear the static that I'm hearing with this particular one in 320mp3. I have changed my Audio Midi Setup to 96000/24 from the default 48000/16 without noticing any changes. Anybody have any ideas? I was hoping to notice a much "cleaner" sound with the toslink upgrade.
Thanks in advance,
Robin
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