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Opus 21 CD vs Mac Mini... Opus wins

Resolution Audio Opus 21 with Great Northern reference upgrade beats Mac Mini (CDs ripped into AIFF files. Exported via firewire into M-Audio Firewire Solo into Opus 21 DAC with SPDIF cable.)
Am I missing something or am I just a victim of the PC audio hype? The Opus 21 is better... soundstage, articulation, rhythm, drive, clarity.
Is it the digital cabling? A.C. issue for the Mac? From what I've been reading the computer should be at least the equal of the CD player. Thoughts?
bwyoung
heymikey
74 posts
 
OMO, either upgrade your firewire to spdif converter, or look into a good usb to spdif converter (Empirical Audio Offramp 3). Make sure you have a good spdif cable (and usb cable if you decide to go that route). Cables do make a difference. I use a mac mini and send firewire out to my firewire dac (Weiss Dac2) and it sounds excellent.
bwyoung OP
140 posts
 
Heymikey, or others, any suggestions on upgrading firewire? I looked at a couple of well known audio cable manufacturers and they don't seem to offer upgraded firewire cables.
devilboy
818 posts
 
My friend got the MSB mod done to his ipod (his ipod mind you), and ran the digital directly into his MSB DAC and it was probably the best digital audio I've ever heard. Sure, a $14,000 DAC helped but still. It smoked any stand-alone CDP I've ever heard. Who wants to change cds anymore anyway? As soon as my Minerva comes in, I will run my Mac Mini (AIFF) into the Minerva via firewire. Mmmmm.
heymikey
74 posts
 
Bwyoung, over at Computer Audiophile they recommend this inexpensive cable:
http://www.firewiredirect.com/product/89/
There is also this, at the other end of the spectrum:
http://www.thecableco.com/product.php?id=5907
and this:
http://www.thecableco.com/product.php?id=5759
Audioquest also makes firewire cables, but no 6 pin to 6 pin, you would need a 4 pin to 6 pin adapter to use them.
I am currently using the first one, the inexpensive GoldX firewire cable.
bwyoung OP
140 posts
 
Thanks for all the help. I will try upgrading my cables and see where I stand with the sound.
One interesting note... I discovered that the M-audio solo has the option to have it plugged in or unplugged (passive). It seems to be a touch cleaner and musical with it unplugged. Imagine that.
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