Standalone DAC/streamer vs Macbook

[TobyJ]

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.

 

[abdo123]

the advice 'the cheap DACs perform just as well' is usually about 100$ DACs vs 2000$ DACs. Not the headphone jack of a laptop vs a dedicated DAC.

What is the budget?

 

[TobyJ]

I did wonder whether the DAC being part of a computer would change things.

His budget is somewhere in the £200-£400 range, I think.

Ideally, he'd like wherever DAC/streamer to also have an HDMI input (as is possible, for example with the NAD C 658). But aware that is likely to take him out of his budget range. But if you do have any ideas that would also incorporate HDMI input in that kind of range, all the better!

 

[abdo123]

My No 1 option is the Cambridge CXN V 2.0 (here) a little bit expensive but very much worth it.

My No 2 option is a dedicated USB DAC connected to Raspberry pi 4 with a streaming operation system installed.

 

[TobyJ]

Thank you - most helpful.

To aid my understanding (and to help explain to little brother), why is it that the laptop DAC output would likely be worse?

And, as this is ASR, are there measurements which show the ways in which this is so?

 

[HiFidFan]

Thank you - most helpful.

To aid my understanding (and to help explain to little brother), why is it that the laptop DAC output would likely be worse?

And, as this is ASR, are there measurements which show the ways in which this is so?

It likely wouldn't be. But tests are required to confirm.

 

[abdo123]

Thank you - most helpful.

To aid my understanding (and to help explain to little brother), why is it that the laptop DAC output would likely be worse?

Unless you're hearing something particularly bad in the output, it's unlikely that you would hear a major difference with a dedicated streamer.

However, no one will put their money that a headphone jack is just as transparent as a high-end dedicated DAC. additionally, you never know whether the operation system is processing the audio in a way that it shouldn't. Windows is notorious for having a ridiculously bad OS mixer. Not sure about mac.

 

[TobyJ]

Ah, maybe it's not worth him splashing on a dedicated DAC/streamer.

Has anyone done ABX (did I get that right?) tests of laptop/standalone DACs, or comparative measurements, that you could point me to?

 

[mdsimon2]

I have done a bit of testing on my 2015 macbook pro, not sure what more recent ones look like. SINAD is ~90 dB which by DAC standards is not exceptional but not completely terrible. Output voltage is also a bit on the low side at ~1.3V.

Michael

 

[abdo123]

Ah, maybe it's not worth him splashing on a dedicated DAC/streamer.

It doesn't have to be as expensive as the Cambridge I've shown.

The Boss player (here) is a very cheap alternative to start with.

For me it is very annoying to have my laptop plugged, or to be infront of a screen whenever i want to play something.

 

[abdo123]

I have done a bit of testing on my 2015 macbook pro, not sure what more recent ones look like. SINAD is ~90 dB which by DAC standards is not exceptional but not completely terrible. Output voltage is also a bit on the low side at ~1.3V.

Michael

Did you test it with the macbook plugged in or on battery? that's quite a decent result i must say.

 

[mdsimon2]

Did you test it with the macbook plugged in or on battery? that's quite a decent result i must say.

I've done both, there is no difference.

Michael