Confused with the purpose of DAC

[tidusminh]

hi everyone,

I'm new to audio, and I just recently bought IFI DAC HIP. It works well and improves sound quality a lot on my android ( Xiaomi Mi 11).
But when I plug that DAC with my Macbook pro 16 inch - 2019, the sound quality is dropped to around 30% ( for the bass - based on my feeling ). Which means listen directly from 3.5 port on Macbook provide better sound.
That makes me confused now, isn't it external DAC supposed to improve sound regardless the source ?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Doodski]

Macbook pro 16 inch

Some Mac product has been known to use decent DACs.

the sound quality is dropped to around 30% ( for the bass - based on my feeling ). Which means listen directly from 3.5 port on Macbook provide better sound.

This is a subjective test without blind testing parameters and level matching?

isn't it external DAC supposed to improve sound regardless the source ?

Not necessarily.

 

[tidusminh]

This is a subjective test without blind testing parameters and level matching?

Yes, this is subjective test, but I can see the huge difference between with and without DAC on my Macbook.

Some Mac product has been known to use decent DACs.

If I understand correctly, in order to improve quality on my Macbook, I have to buy new DAC which has the chipset better than my Macbook built-in DAC ?

 

[VintageFlanker]

That makes me confused now, isn't it external DAC supposed to improve sound regardless the source ?

Absolutely not. The purpose of a DAC is to convert digital into analog.

Maybe it could help if you tell us about your system...

 

[xaviescacs]

Differences, if real, are most probably due to headphone amplifiers, not from the DAC chips. Perhaps is a matter of power, the andorid is short of power and the MAC don't, which impacts mostly the low frequencies.

the sound quality is dropped to around 30% ( for the bass - based on my feeling )

With pop/rock music, if you boost bass for a while and then set it flat again, the feeling is that something is missing, dry sound, boring, etc. Don't always assume that big bass is the result of better fidelity. Some designers know this and boost bass a bit.

If want to be sure your fidelity is improved, just buy something recommended here by amir, and you just forget about other sources.

Your current one has a lot of distortion and not the best noise floor.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/ifi-hip-dac-review-dac-headphone-amp.25150/

So most probably the DAC on the Mac is better.

 

[Koloth]

Perhaps there is some kind of equalizer engaged boosting low frequencies through the default sound device and once you plug in the external dac its disengaged.

 

[Yasuo]

Maybe certain distortion can be perceived as more "bass"?

 

[xaviescacs]

Maybe certain distortion can be perceived as more "bass"?

Distortion of a tone consists of harmonics of that tone, so always with higher frequencies. So distortion is really adding more tones, blurring a bit, removing some clarity, but also providing more tones. This seems to be the explanation why distortion is often confused with detail, because it really adds more "details". There are tons of reviews saying that tube amps, which usually have more distortion, have more detail than solid state ones.

 

[JSmith]

But when I plug that DAC with my Macbook pro 16 inch - 2019, the sound quality is dropped to around 30% ( for the bass - based on my feeling ).

So it sounds distorted then I assume? The iFi does have relatively high 3rd harmonic. High or low gain and have you got that xBass setting on?

ifi hip dac review (DAC & Headphone Amp)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the ifi hip dac combination USB DAC and portable headphone amplifier (with battery). It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $169 from Amazon including Prime shipping. I don't know why ifi thinks this is a "hip" dac as the enclosure is a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

JSmith

 

[DanielT]

hi everyone,

I'm new to audio, and I just recently bought IFI DAC HIP. It works well and improves sound quality a lot on my android ( Xiaomi Mi 11).
But when I plug that DAC with my Macbook pro 16 inch - 2019, the sound quality is dropped to around 30% ( for the bass - based on my feeling ). Which means listen directly from 3.5 port on Macbook provide better sound.
That makes me confused now, isn't it external DAC supposed to improve sound regardless the source ?

Thanks for reading.

Check that the signal strength is the same. Lower sounds are often mistaken for worse sounds and vice versa higher sounds are mistaken for better sounds.

If you compare the sound with two gadgets, regardless of which gadget it is, and switch between them and one has a higher sound it will come out as the "winner" and "sound" better. But (probably, may be so) it's just that the one with higher volume is just that, higher volume. BUT it can also sound better (if it's even audibly?.. difficult to tell with DACs ) but you have to give the stuff an honest chance so it's the same signal strength.

In order to really disconnect from preconceived notions, you also have to do a blind test,.. but that is another matter.

DAC can have problems with grounding and hum. But you should have heard that if it is something you experience as bad sound.

Edit:
Especially when comparing electronics, DACs for example, with such a low level of distortion, signal strength is a crucial factor. Otherwise it is, unfortunately, quite pointless to compare.

OT, tip if you use Android:

High quality media player for Android

Has this been tested? Is what is said true? Anyone have this player? Experiences? HIGH QUALITY MEDIA PLAYER FOR ANDROID Supporting USB audio DACs to play audio files up to 32-bit resolution at any sample rate! Will play any popular format including wav, flac, wavpack, ape, mp3 and DSD files...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Peluvius]

If I understand correctly, in order to improve quality on my Macbook, I have to buy new DAC which has the chipset better than my Macbook built-in DAC ?

All things being equal, you will not hear a difference between the DAC in a 2019 Macbook Pro and any other DAC.

 

[rwortman]

Distortion of a tone consists of harmonics of that tone, so always with higher frequencies. So distortion is really adding more tones, blurring a bit, removing some clarity, but also providing more tones. This seems to be the explanation why distortion is often confused with detail, because it really adds more "details". There are tons of reviews saying that tube amps, which usually have more distortion, have more detail than solid state ones.

This is true if “a tone”. However audio is multiple tones and the same nonlinearities that cause harmonic distortion can cause IM distortion which will produce difference tones that are lower in frequency then the originals. Even so, I doubt that this is perceived as better or more bass. More than likely either the OP’s MAC has a bass boost in its headphone output either on purpose or due to output impedance interacting with the headphone impedance, or it is simply slightly louder.