2. digital
  3. 137152-115924

New to HiFi, need digital advice.

I am not an audiophile but I recently acquired a really nice high end system for free. (AR LS16 preamp, Madrigal Proceed HPA2 amp, Arcam CD92 CD player, Aerial Acoustics 7B tower speakers.  I have been learning as much as I can over the last week since I got it.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to put together a decent but not necessarily high end digital input system for as little money as possible.

So here is my plan. I know it is not high end and probably not commensurate with my system but hopefully will meet my needs:

Old iMac using iTunes to manage flac or alac files plugged into Schiit Modi 2 via USB cable and then into preamp via USB cable. I can us Apple's remote app on my iPhone to select/play music remotely (Works great).

Does this sound reasonable? If so it will only cost me about $100 for the Schiit DAC and $25 for a decent set of RCA cables (already purchased) and whatever I might need to spend on the USB cable. Anything I should know about the USB cable for this?

Thanks for the advice and apologies for my ignorance in all of this.

George
n80

Showing 7 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Are you using a 1/8-inch stereo mini-phono plug adapter? This plugs into the headphone jack and the Mac will recognise if you are using headphones or a digital interface.

You only use the Mac volume if using headphones. For digital output, the preamp in your system controls volume.


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
n80,
When the 'y' cable was plugged into the headphone jack, how was the Mac wired into your system?

I'm going to assume you checked System Preferences/Sound/ Output and it was set to Optical Digital Out Port.
  I use this method and audio files sound fine.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
n80, if your Mac is running OS 10.4 to about 10.6 you will see the Optical Digital Out Port setting in System Preferences/Sound as soon as the Y-cord is inserted into the headphone jack. Otherwise, Preferences/Sound will display Internal Speakers.

May I ask why you are changing to optical output when you already have the USB setup from the Mac?

I'll jump on the bandwagon and suggest getting a streamer as well. But if you have many audio files ripped, you will still want to access your iMac.


lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
https://www.noproblemmac.com/blog/2014/01/30/how-to-get-digital-audio-from-your-mac-to-your-receiver...
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
n80, I don't think anybody here has a problem sharing their knowledge to another member.

Yes, the Toslink is carrying a digital signal and needs to be converted by a DAC. Then the analogue output goes to the preamp.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I can give you a simplified explanation and let others who are more familiar with computer audio chime in, but I know the USB interface carries’s a 5V power signal along with the data. Since the power is traveling down the same cable as the all important data, noise can be introduced into the data stream (the music).
There are devices used to clean up the noise, one is known as a "decrapifier," and the end result is cleaner data to be used when imported to the audio components.
There is also the issue of "jitter" which is the timing of the digital stream travelling from point A to point B. That’s why a DAC needs an internal or external clock device to correct the timing of the data stream. Basically, computers and analogue music systems are not a perfect fit.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
TOSLINK is an interface that was designed for AV transmission, while USB was designed for data use (not audio). It is a light source carrying the signal thru fiber optic strands encased in a cable.
The highest quality cable which is recommended for audio use is a glass fiber cable. This provides the cleanest signal.
I believe one of the benefits of optical is there are no problems with grounding issues as found in other formats.

There is a downside to Toslink in that it doesn’t have the bandwidth to carry DSD audio, but can transmit hires PCM.

I recommend searching the Audiogon archives for info about both interfaces. USB is more popular, especially since technological advances have made it suited to use in high quality audio systems.


More to discover