Digital music questions

@yage No problem at all.

I would like to mention that I do assume there are differences in the quality of the presentation of different streamers.  The only other streamer I have heard was in a very high dollar system.  That streamer was part of the top of the line MSB streamer, preamp, DAC unit included in a $200K+ system (McIntosh dual mono MC451s, Sonus Faber Lilium speakers, the MSB combo).  Simply divine, cannot recommend Fidelis Audio in Nashua, NH enough.

As I think I mentioned, I have a Bluesound node 2i that I use with an external DAC.  Although I could swing buying the above, I am happy with the Bluesound and my entire system.  I like its overall sound signature.

Thanks for the varied opinions on this. I’m considering dipping in with a Bluesound, as a trial. The UI certainly does matter!

@femoore12 you raise a very good point. How would I know if the Macintosh is decoding the signal or if it’s the MacBook Pro? I just seem to be stuck at 48K making me think it’s probably the latter. I’m not quite sure how to change this. I do have it coming out via USB. It would be interesting to see if this makes a big difference. 

@cmb13 If you are connecting to your MacBook to stream, then it’s the MacBook internal dac that is decoding the files. The only way to switch that in the mac without software like Roon, is through the midi utility and I know mine didn’t see the C2700 dac module. The Bluesound Node is a good way to start and I think you can bypass the internal Bluesound dac to use the module in your C2700. 

@femoore12 @cmb13 

If you're connecting the Macbook via USB to the McIntosh, then the McIntosh is decoding the audio data. What's happening is unfortunately it seems the Apple Music app isn't switching the sampling rate automatically. You can switch it manually using the 'Audio MIDI Setup' utility if you know what the actual sample rate is. Otherwise, macOS is resampling the music to match whatever is set in 'Audio MIDI Setup'. I don't know why Apple can't quite get their act together on this but it is what it is.

There are players out there that will switch the sampling rate automatically. For example, Kodi can do this when the 'Output configuration' setting in System -> Audio is set to 'Best Match'. However none of these players are integrated with Apple Music streaming.

Thank you. That’s kind of crazy. It really means that the Apple Music on Hi-Res is basically nothing more than marketing tool because it’s virtually impossible to listen on Hi-Res. You can’t even do it with their own wireless products.

@yage @cmb13  This why I use Roon on my Mac mini. I set it up as a Roon core and connected it to my C2700. The C2700 now shows the correct sampling rate. However, I don’t stream Apple Music through my system. Just the music I’ve purchased and downloaded from Apple, HD Tracks, etc. It also works correctly streaming from Qobuz and Tidal. I got tired of messing with the Midi utility. 
 

I previously had a Schiit Modi dac that the Apple Midi utility saw when it was plugged into the USB port or headphone port. I still had to select it in the midi utility. 

Amazon Music Unlimited is my choice for streaming as it is inexpensive, user-friendly, and can stream 192/24 hi-res as needed. I also stream locally resident files. Say NO to Apple BS, you'll be happier going around any Apple software crap. The Apple hardware is good however.  You can stream to a DAC from your apple device using the internet streaming services or locally resident files (not in iTunes or Apple Music) and the results are dependent mostly on your outboard DAC. That said, the computer is not the best streaming device, even with a separate DAC. My choice for a dedicated streamer after much research ended up being the Bluesound Node, with an external DAC using either my McIntosh processor's DAC or a SMSL SU-9 DAC feeding the McIntosh an analog signal depending on the config at any given time. Not going to argue DAC or digital signal technology as there is so much misinformation out there. What is real is that a better DAC can influence the resulting sound, period. The BluOS user interface is the big selling point for us, and the audio is flawless whether streaming or playing local files. The DAC in the McIntosh products are excellent, especially the newest DA2. Can you get better? Well, you can definitely get "different" from other DACs, but after much messing around in this area for a long time, there is no value for me to spend any more on DACs or more expensive streaming devices at the moment. Seriously considered an Aurender and others, but the time I would spend using it would be limited and the difference in audio negligible for me. 

Use Qobuz and Bluesound and DAC in your integrated and you will be fine till you can afford a LOT more$. Also Ethernet cord mandatory.