Hi folks
Could you help with some advice?
My brother and I have both recently been investing in some decent hifi gear. He's got a pretty sweet vintage amp and vintage wharefedale speakers, both of which he's just had refurbished. (Sorry, can't remember the details of either, but could find out if it's useful)
He's wondering how to handle the digital side of music listening. Currently he streams via his high end MacBook Pro, with then analogue connections out to his amp via the headphone output. (He works in the video industry, so his MacBook is one of the really fancy ones)
I recently suggested to him that he might want to invest in a standalone DAC/streamer (such as Bluesound Node 2i) , as it would likely give him better sound.
However, having read a few comments on here that there's no point in having a fancy DAC, as the cheap ones perform just as well, I'm now beginning to doubt the advice I gave him.
So, can anyone shed any light? Is a standalone DAC/streamer likely to give better sound then the output of his MacBook?
Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Could you help with some advice?
My brother and I have both recently been investing in some decent hifi gear. He's got a pretty sweet vintage amp and vintage wharefedale speakers, both of which he's just had refurbished. (Sorry, can't remember the details of either, but could find out if it's useful)
He's wondering how to handle the digital side of music listening. Currently he streams via his high end MacBook Pro, with then analogue connections out to his amp via the headphone output. (He works in the video industry, so his MacBook is one of the really fancy ones)
I recently suggested to him that he might want to invest in a standalone DAC/streamer (such as Bluesound Node 2i) , as it would likely give him better sound.
However, having read a few comments on here that there's no point in having a fancy DAC, as the cheap ones perform just as well, I'm now beginning to doubt the advice I gave him.
So, can anyone shed any light? Is a standalone DAC/streamer likely to give better sound then the output of his MacBook?
Many thanks for any help you can offer.