What is the BEST sound card to use with a MAC G5

To my knowledge there aren't any good sound cards for high end audio. Get a dac with either usb, firewire or ethernet. If you need spdif, something like the off ramp (usb=>spdif) would work, but direct usb is better.

What DAC are you currently using? I have done exactly what you are intending, ripped cds in apple lossless to a 750GB external HD and Mac iBook G4 which then goes via USB cable (Kimber) to a Paradisea + USB DAC then to preamp (Supratek). The sound is superb. You will encounter some here that say it isn't that easy, in my case yes it was just that easy.

Is there even such a thing as a sound card for Macs? It's all built in.

DWR and 4est are both right.

No sound card especially on a Mac. If you insist take a look at the pro audio offerings from Apogee and the like

If you already have a DAC you like, what you will probably need is a USB to SPDIF box - Blue Circle and Hagerman both make them (among others) - so you will come out of the Mac via USB, go to the box, then come from the box to the DAC via SPDIF or Toslink.

FWIW if you get the right Toslink cable (ie Wireworld SuperNova 5) G5 to DAC is great - I ran one into a TriVista for a few years, no complaints.

If you need a DAC, then a USB DAC is the way to go. Take a look at Wavelength Audio, Apogee, Paradisea and too many others to mention. The best units are the ones that go USB into I2S with no SPDIF interim stage.

All very easy and the results are great. Just make sure you check "Error Correction On" in the iTunes preferences.

Myrtle - The Off-Ramp Turbo 2 works the same with Mac. Supports 24/44.1, 24/88.2 and 24/96.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio