macmini spdif out vs. usb

Marco,
Thank you very much for the very informative reply. I don't know if I was the only one helped by your response, but you certainly helped me. I will begin researching what is the most cost effective way of converting a USB signal to SPDIF. Given my level of involvement in this hobby, I'm afraid I know which end of the cost scale I'll end up at! Thanks again for your help.

Bruce_1- is there some wrong with the sound quailty you're getting with the MacBook Pro- mini to Toslink connection to your MF Tri-Vista?

How does it sound compared to CDs played on the MF Tri-Vista?

Here are some interesting threads running currently on Asylum:

Which is better format sonically: USB or S/DIF?

SB3 versa USB to S/PDIF converter?

Why no "reasonably" priced USB Dacs?

Enjoy!

Kana813,
I'm actually quite impressed with the sound quality of the current set-up (Mac->optical cable->MF Tri-Vista), and find it sounds as good (some listeners I've had over say "better than")as playing a CD using the Tri-vista as both transport and DAC. However, as a card carrying member of the audiophile community, I'm always interested incremental improvements in sound quality. In my case, I would add "Cost effective" to that search. That is why I was hoping for a relatively inexpensive cable solution to improving the sound quality. I'm not going to spend a thousand dollars on this unless it makes a discernable improvement over the current set-up. Howver, if I can do a lot better than I am now with a relatively small investment, I'll do it. I would like to try it out before making the investment though.

Bruce_1; you are welcome. Definitely get some input from the folks who make their living in that field, and listen and weigh the specific alternatives yourself. Report your findings here when you have...perhaps another thread. Have fun! Worst case scenario - it does sound like you have an enjoyable system already - Nothing wrong with that!

Hey Rene - How have you enjoyed the Wavelength Brick? Did I describe the sound in a way that was similar to your own impressions of it? Have you held onto it?

Marco