o2so Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Hi there, can someone please advise on the best way to send data from a Mac to a DAC (without USB input) using Roon? I need to decide between a USB to SPDF converter and a relatively cheap wifi streamer (Sonos?) or even Airplay. I do not have any hi res file, only redbook. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 Is distance and cables a problem? What budget do you wish to spend on this? A simple USB to SPDIF converter such as the the Gustard U12 will give you the best quality for the price. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thathifiguy Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 (edited) Optical cable with 3.5mm adapter. They are dual purpose analog/toslink headphone output. Edited October 16, 2018 by thathifiguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o2so Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 16 hours ago, Ittaku said: Is distance and cables a problem? What budget do you wish to spend on this? A simple USB to SPDIF converter such as the the Gustard U12 will give you the best quality for the price. Budget: less than 300-400 dollars Distance is not a problem. The Gustard loos good. Thanks for the tip. I wonder how is that superior to Airplay if you dont have hi res files? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o2so Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 15 hours ago, thathifiguy said: Optical cable with 3.5mm adapter. They are dual purpose analog/toslink headphone output. can you please clarify what you mean? I need to convert USB to SPDF or even toslink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ittaku Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 1 minute ago, o2so said: Budget: less than 300-400 dollars Distance is not a problem. The Gustard loos good. Thanks for the tip. I wonder how is that superior to Airplay if you dont have hi res files? It effectively will act as a mild decrapifier but mainly a de-jitter as well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sakabatou Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 9 minutes ago, o2so said: can you please clarify what you mean? I need to convert USB to SPDF or even toslink Lots of (all?) Macs have a combo 3.5mm jack that can output digital over mini-toslink. So a mini-toslink to toslink cable (or adapter and standard optical cable) may be all you need if your dac has optical input Eg https://www.cablechick.com.au/cables/2m-toslink-to-mini-toslink-35mm-optical-cable.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
o2so Posted October 16, 2018 Author Share Posted October 16, 2018 6 minutes ago, sakabatou said: Lots of (all?) Macs have a combo 3.5mm jack that can output digital over mini-toslink. So a mini-toslink to toslink cable (or adapter and standard optical cable) may be all you need if your dac has optical input Eg https://www.cablechick.com.au/cables/2m-toslink-to-mini-toslink-35mm-optical-cable.html uh! did not know that! thank you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thathifiguy Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 1 hour ago, o2so said: can you please clarify what you mean? I need to convert USB to SPDF or even toslink The headphone jack on the MacBook is both analog and digital toslink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jventer Posted October 16, 2018 Share Posted October 16, 2018 To the OP A Mac normaly has headphone out - which is also Toslink(optical) as others have posted. usb out possibly Firewire or Thunderbolt The cheapest and most effective way is to use Toslink, but you may want to pursue possibly better alternatives like the Gustard, Audiophilleo, Singxer in the form of usb to spdif converters. After that there is a plethora of usb cables and other stuff that you can add to the chain to improve the music further (if you wish ). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregWormald Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 As @Jventer says. In my experience SPDIF is generally (although not always) preferred sound-wise to optical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugly Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Schiit Eitr https://addictedtoaudio.com.au/products/schiit-audio-eitr-usb-to-spdif-converter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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