Ways to improve DAC performance???

>>This is like buying the $2K turntable and $100 cartridge. Not great. You are better off to buy the $500 turntable and put a $2K cartridge on it.<<

Actually that's incorrect. A $2000 table with a better arm and $100 cartridge will smoke a $500 with inferior arm and expensive cartridge all day long.

Those of us with 50+ years of analog experience know this.

In a show environment, I see the advantages using USB. But in a home environment, I prefer the simplier approach, DLNA via ethernet with an audiophile grade ethernet cable. Last thing I want is a dedicated computer in my rack, noise, extra hardware, drivers ... No Thanks!

"A packeted signal via USB (which mother boards do a horrible job of implementing, by the way)which needs to go trough a usb to spdif converter (okay, reclocked!) that THEN goes into a DAC is simply better than a good sound card right into a dac?"

Yes. Better than all of the soundcards I have tried, even Lynx and RME. Even reclocked with my own reclocker.

Maybe one of these days you will actually try one of my converters. They have money-back, less shipping you know.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

I didn't realize I would start such a debate!
So selling my Eastern Electric Minimax CDP with killer Siemens 7308 tubes was a bad move?

Steve- I'd like to know how much one of your converters is? I only spent $250 on my Ross Martin DAC (very small business run by a great guy who did production for Sony). I sold the CDP for $450 plus $200 tubes- I really don't want to spend more than that total to get good sound with the DAC/Macbook combo- I'm one of those rare audiophiles that DOES NOT have unlimited cash.

Is budget digital audio simply not possible via a laptop?

My system has always been modest. I went from Snells to Vandys to Merlins, to DIY Northcreeks, and my latest speaker will be Gallo Strada monitors mated with an M&K subwoofer for low end. My amp is a very upgraded Fisher 500c receiver- love that tube sound.

Thanks again for the opinions shared and I will do my best to look at all viewpoints. But for me buying used gear for cheap and simply enjoying the music is what this crazy hobby is all about.

I've got a wife and 3 kids, so $1k plus "tweaks" are not possible, nor even rational in my opinion. Sorry for not being more clear about my criteria with my original post.

Other thoughts are welcome.
Linc

Linc - the most important thing in any digital playback system is the master clock, not the DAC. This resides in the CD Transport, USB converter, WiFi converter or reclocker. Spending a reasonable amount of money on this is critical.

You can still have your $200 DAC, but make sure to drive it with a low-jitter source, like your Macbook driving a Synchro-Mesh reclocker powered by a Dynamo power supply. The Synchro-Mesh is $599.

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/synchro-mesh

Steve N.
Empirical Audio