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New to HiFi, need digital advice.

I am not an audiophile but I recently acquired a really nice high end system for free. (AR LS16 preamp, Madrigal Proceed HPA2 amp, Arcam CD92 CD player, Aerial Acoustics 7B tower speakers.  I have been learning as much as I can over the last week since I got it.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to put together a decent but not necessarily high end digital input system for as little money as possible.

So here is my plan. I know it is not high end and probably not commensurate with my system but hopefully will meet my needs:

Old iMac using iTunes to manage flac or alac files plugged into Schiit Modi 2 via USB cable and then into preamp via USB cable. I can us Apple's remote app on my iPhone to select/play music remotely (Works great).

Does this sound reasonable? If so it will only cost me about $100 for the Schiit DAC and $25 for a decent set of RCA cables (already purchased) and whatever I might need to spend on the USB cable. Anything I should know about the USB cable for this?

Thanks for the advice and apologies for my ignorance in all of this.

George
n80
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
Okay, so I'm testing the waters. Trying to tell what's going to be real and important to me and what isn't.

So, I brought the old iMac down and ripped Synchronicity by the Police into it using the computer's CD drive. AIFF file. Then played it back through the headphone jack with a 'y' cable (a good one) and it just did not sound good. Put the actual CD into the CD player and compared them back and forth. The difference is huge. Of course.

I know I'm comparing worst case vs best case but it does tell me.....I think... that there is no sense spending time and money running stuff through iTunes and a headphone jack.

I might try to upgrade the OS on the iMac to where it will run Bitperfect through the Schiit DAC. I realize that is still low end....but it will have to be better than what I just heard.

mahler123
633 posts
 
@n80 know I’m being pedantic, but technically CDs are “digital”.  A CD player is actually a very specialized computer, optimized to extract digital information from spinning disc, and then convert those 0s and 1s into analog sound, and feed that analog signal into a preamp.  Some have additional functionality, in that their DACs can be accessed by other digital sources, or can send their own digital feed into another DAC, but it’s all digital, regardless.
   CDs may be “old school “ but that doesn’t make them inferior.  In fact, after trying the Mac&DAC route, or using a dedicated music server such as Bluesound, I am realizing that most digital replay is at best, equal to be the best CD players, and frequently not up to that standard.
  If you are happy with your current CD setup, it may not be wise to go down the road that you have embarked upon.  After all, there has never been a better time to collect CDs, as the major labels are dumping their back catalogs at bargain basement prices, and frequently in newly remastered versions to boot
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
mahler, don't worry about being pedantic. I do know that CD's are digital (and that apparently my old Arcam player has a 'good' DAC) but otherwise all of this gets very confusing for someone new to it all.

And you may be right about not going down this rabbit hole. But there is an appeal to libraries of music, playlists, etc, right at your fingertips. But I agree, pursuing that appeal at a high level is probably beyond the limited budget I have for this hobby. I will probably spend the rest of it on CDs.

I think one audiophile trait that I have is that I do like to dabble and fiddle with stuff. I've got to put a lid on that. ;-)
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
3,018 posts
 
n80,
When the 'y' cable was plugged into the headphone jack, how was the Mac wired into your system?

I'm going to assume you checked System Preferences/Sound/ Output and it was set to Optical Digital Out Port.
  I use this method and audio files sound fine.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
lowrider, I don't know if you're making a wrong assumption about how ignorant I am about all this or a correct assumption about how gullible I am because I cannot find a setting for Optical Digital Out Port on my MacBook Pro (10 years old) or the old iMac (12 years old). But you did make me look. ;-)

I have not check the new iMac yet.
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