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Is the MacBook Pro 13" 2020 DAC insanely good or is it me?

Damian

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Hi all,

Basically I upgraded from a 2013 MacBook Pro and I always used it with a Dragonfly dongle, at home I do have a Soconz DAC and THX 789, then to my surprise, the moment I connected the headphones directly to this Mac the clarity is pretty good as well as volume, had anyone measure it or can confirm is not a placebo effect? :D

Cheers.
 

Veri

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I own a 13" generation earlier than yours but yes, the output is quite good. Obviously not extremely powerful, but with efficient headphones you don't really need a much more elaborate set-up. It's really fine.
 

bobbooo

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Hi all,

Basically I upgraded from a 2013 MacBook Pro and I always used it with a Dragonfly dongle, at home I do have a Soconz DAC and THX 789, then to my surprise, the moment I connected the headphones directly to this Mac the clarity is pretty good as well as volume, had anyone measure it or can confirm is not a placebo effect? :D

Cheers.

Well most laptops or smartphones are likely to have cleaner output in comparison to the Dragonfly, which has high 3rd-order harmonic distortion (more objectionable then 2nd-order):

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JohnBooty

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I don't have experience with the 2020 13" MBP, but it's worth noting that audio engineering is something that Apple does tend to right. Ken Rockwell has measured the analog output of a lot of Apple devices over the years and measurements have been quite nice.

https://kenrockwell.com/audio/index.htm#reviews (scroll to the Apple section)

How are the speakers on the 2020 13" model? I was highly impressed with the speakers on the 2020 16" model. Six drivers - discrete tweeters and two pairs of dual-opposed woofers. Did some frequency sweeps and there was audible bass down to 60hz. Clarity was excellent.
 
OP
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Damian

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I don't have experience with the 2020 13" MBP, but it's worth noting that audio engineering is something that Apple does tend to right. Ken Rockwell has measured the analog output of a lot of Apple devices over the years and measurements have been quite nice.

https://kenrockwell.com/audio/index.htm#reviews (scroll to the Apple section)

How are the speakers on the 2020 13" model? I was highly impressed with the speakers on the 2020 16" model. Six drivers - discrete tweeters and two pairs of dual-opposed woofers. Did some frequency sweeps and there was audible bass down to 60hz. Clarity was excellent.

To be honest haven't try them and my impressions would not be good due to the fact that I mostly listen with high end headphones. For what I see they are quite good for this small laptop.
 

andreasmaaan

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Most Apple products have excellent inbuilt DACs. Would actually surprise me if the DAC in that macbook weren't functionally as good as any DAC on the market.
 
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