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Finally admits he is overwhelmed

kent53

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I have my analog set up as follows: Amp:Audiolab 8300 (noDAC or Headphone connection); Tuner:Sangean HD 1, CD: an old Onkyo from the late 80's or early 90's that works fine; and I am in early stages of rehabbing a Thorens for my vinyl; I have an old 8GB MacBook Pro from 2015 running Catalina, but free otherwise; and all of my CD's ripped (in AIFF) to a 2T portable HD. No Headphones yet. My speakers for now are NHT SB3s. I have my eye on a hardly-used Monolith 124459 DAC/headphone amp, but I am still waffling (my wife claims I should have a budget!). From what I glean from this forum, and other sites, I think I am on the right track. Am I stupid for spending a lot ($400) on a DAC/HP amp? There are SO MANY out there!! I don't stream right now (maybe in the future), I just want to listen to my ripped CD's. and I do not desire to use my iPhone as a controller at this time; Im fine, for now, with getting up to change the album like in the olden days.

Here is my "newbie-to-digital-dilemma(s)": Can I run the 2TbHD to this MacBook, sign up for Roon or similar and use this as my base station? Is Roon even needed, or do I just transfer my stuff to the MacBook hd and muddle through as-is? IS this even the right way to go (Monolith, Roon)? Both seem a bit pricey. Everyone I asked seems to just be trying to sell me something. Im kinda newbie, so be gentle. Can anyone offer some advice or steer me to a site or book (you know, paper and typesetting and stuff.)
 
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CDMC

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You can use your mac as your playback device, just run a USB from it to a DAC. I like the Schiit Modi for $99, others prefer the Topping E30 at $129.

Roon is nice to have, I love it as it combines my burned music with my streaming (Tidal or Qobuz), but it is not needed. You can simply choose the music streaming service of your choice and use their software on your Mac for streaming. For your burned music, you can use iTunes, pay for JRiver, or pick up another freeware or paid player.
 

AudioStudies

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A lot of options besides Roon, and they are cheaper, as CDMC states. I think if you get a headphone DAC, it would be great to get a line out to feed to your main system also, because modern DACs are far better than an Onkyo from the early 90s. Some combination DAC/AMPS come equipped with both a headphone out and a line out; as do some standalone amps.
 

AudioStudies

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May want to investigate some of the offerings from Topping.
 
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Soniclife

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What's wrong with iTunes? Worry about going for a trial with roon or similar later.
 
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kent53

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What's wrong with iTunes? Worry about going for a trial with roon or similar later.
Much appreciated Soniclife, but I don't think iTunes exists anymore; it has been replaced by Apple Music, which charges a monthly fee. I would prefer to find something free for now, or just go without. I recently discovered a free app called Lumïn, which looks like a contender if I go that route.
 

CDMC

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Much appreciated Soniclife, but I don't think iTunes exists anymore; it has been replaced by Apple Music, which charges a monthly fee. I would prefer to find something free for now, or just go without. I recently discovered a free app called Lumïn, which looks like a contender if I go that route.

iTunes is gone, but I understand Apple Music can be used for your current library for free:

https://support.apple.com/guide/music/import-items-already-on-your-computer-mus3081/mac

I always found the itunes interface to be a nightmare, but I am a wibdows user, so it may be better on a Mac.
 
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kent53

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cool! I had no clue. Thank You! I will give it a shot.
 

tmtomh

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FWIW, you can combine Apple's Music app - which for locally stored music works just like iTunes used to, and remains totally free - with the $9.99 BitPerfect app (available on the app store) to enable on-the-fly resolution switching (and integer mode if you care about that sort of thing), for consistent bit-perfect output.

However, while this is a very inexpensive solution for a Mac user, it makes sense only if you like or feel attached to the iTunes/Apple Music interface and library organization scheme. Personally I am, so it's ideal for me. But there are many third-party apps out there - like JRiver and others - that are not super expensive and are preferred by many people for their ability to play FLAC files, manage the library in more extensive ways, and so on.
 
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