Novice needs Mac Mini and DAC advice

Went through the same thing. As far as dac's I've heard between 500-2000, most of them seem to use the reference saber dac these days, and to me, they all share it's house sound of open, ultra dynamic, slightly laid back and very spacious and energized sound. Most, also, share the dac's weakness of sounding a tad vapor like image body, and having a slightly overhyped treble that can be a bit too mechanical. No one would mistake these for vinyl :)

Of the new breed of 9018 sabers I've heard, the wyred dac2(which I borrowed from a friend for a week), oppo bdp105(which I own) and wadia 121 (which i auditioned at home for a weekend) I liked the wadia the best. Seemed to have the best characteristics of the saber sound with the least attributes of it's common flaws. Also has the volume control you want, it's in the same price range as the other two ($1295), and has multiple inputs as well.

I went a different direction, and took a chance on a jkdac32 dac by John Kenny. It's a simple, battery powered dac with a single USB input that uses his modified hiface USB input stage, and a burr brown PCM 5102 chip. Does up to 32/384 files. Completely different sound. And, to my ears, a favorable one. Doesn't have the same larger than life sound of the saber dac's I mentioned, but it does make music sound complete, and has better depth of image, while giving instruments proper weight and placement. Also, the most 'analogue' sounding dac I've heard so far. I don't mean warm or fuzzy, I mean cohesive with proper space, weight, texture. Lovers of the saber dac's might consider it undynamic and dull. Though, I consider most of the saber dac's I've heard to sound unrealisticly dynamic, and lacking realistic weight and involvement. The wadia was the exception.

I digress...

There are lots of good options out there. And, since most fall below $1500 bucks, there's no need to spend more cash on a good one. The market for these devices has become ultra competitive, which means the consumer is winning. Try a place like music direct that has a 30 day return policy, order a wadia, and give it a listen. I really liked it, and showed me what the dac's in my oppo bdp105 can really do, when more love and care is focused on the input/output stages. If, as you say, you want 'clean, hi res sound', it'll probably get you closer to it than can be purchased near it's price, and get you enjoying your music very quickly and easily.

Hope all this helps.

Oh, my pleasure! I hope it helped.

And, being in camera sales, trust me, I understand how daunting and overwhelming it can be going in with little to no knowledge, and being overwhelmed and even intimidated by the atmosphere, the choices, the sales people. I get it from customers a lot. But, customers know more than they think. So, I usually ask them two questions to get started.

1. What is your price point?
2. What features are you looking for?

Number one is most important. That the one where I won't even show a customer a camera unless they give me a slightly specific idea of that. Too many times, a customer has said 'I want a really good camera!', so I'll pull down a 600 dollar Canon Rebel, and tell them the price, and they reply in horror 'I can't afford that!'. Now, they get to leave, feeling that anything I show them from that point on, no matter how good, is a consolation prize.

Number two is almost as important. What features do you want. Obviously 'good sound' is the main one, like 'good photos' would be for anyone buying a camera, but aside from that, you mentioned built in volume control. Do you want balanced outputs? Do you need multiple inputs for other digital sources? How high a sample rate do you want? 24/96 enough, or do you need 24/192? Does DSD playback matter much to you?

Number two should be more a priority list, rather than a check list. You might give up a feature or two that might be 'kinda cool' to have, in the name of more performance, or preferential sound.

Then, just start hitting your local brick and mortars, bring a good mix cd of your own music...he'll, bring a laptop with your music on it, tell them your price point, what features you really need, then listen. Any salesman who actually knows how to sell will keep you within 25% of your budget, be gracious with their time and knowledge, and not make you feel like they're slumming it with you because 1500 or 2000 is your budget. If they do, or spout nonsense like 'well, to get really good, you need to spend (insert much larger number than you want to spend here), just leave. They're idiots, and not representing their moderately priced gear with the enthusiasm it deserves.

Honestly, though, most will be happy to help and keep you within the ballpark of your budget.

Aside from that, have fun, go with what sounds best to your ears with the music you like, and take it home, plug it in, and just start enjoying it.

Let us know what you end up with, and how it turns out for you!

Jason

Just go slow, and start from the foundation, and work your way up.

Focus on a good dac for now. Then move into a player solution that sounds good, and suits your convenience. Mac side, I've had good luck with audirvana plus and fidelia.

Then, go to the tweaks.

You have time to take it in stages, but for myself, that order gave me the biggest to smallest gain in improvements.

That way, you can focus on one thing at a time, and the benefit of enjoying it, as you go.