Dc79 Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 Hi All, I'm setting up my very first system and wondering if there is distinguishable difference in sound between the 2 cables. - QED XT40 (Oxygen Free Copper, figure eight construction, 12 AWG) - Audioquest Rocket 11 (Long-Grain Copper, twisted construction, 13 AWG) Also, is there a way for me to play the Flac files using a Macbook pro and use the DAC inside the integrated amplifier (audiolab 6000a) without using a pricey streamer in between them? Thank you guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krebetman Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dc79 said: Also, is there a way for me to play the Flac files using a Macbook pro and use the DAC inside the integrated amplifier (audiolab 6000a) without using a pricey streamer in between them? You amp seems to have a USB input, but only for firmware updates, not to feed the onboard DAC - so if you want to go digital in, it's either electrical SPDIF or Optical TOSLNK. if your Macbook pro is of a certain vintage (see articles like this https://www.macworld.com/article/3205890/how-to-replace-the-missing-optical-digital-audio-output-on-newer-macs.html ), then you could use an optical cable to stream bits from the laptop to a Toslink input on your amplifier. On the other hand, if your Macbook is too new, it won't have that capability and you would need a USB convertor. You could start with something simple and cheap like https://www.ebay.com.au/i/392866127540?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=705-139619-5960-0&mkcid=2&itemid=392866127540&targetid=919947811406&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9071350&poi=&campaignid=10101784991&mkgroupid=102311924380&rlsatarget=pla-919947811406&abcId=9300367&merchantid=7364522&gclid=CjwKCAiAt9z-BRBCEiwA_bWv-Jod7Pbs1dqQXt2uZuNi_ATkGm4OzcyEHJdGI50vYdwQhdRPhW6c5RoC1K4QAvD_BwE. Weirdly, one of the cheapest quality USB DDC (digital to digital converters) devices out there is the Topping D10 DAC, which might be comparable (or better) than the amplifier's built-in DAC anyway. For what it's worth the Topping DAC uses a higher spec Sabre DAC chip than your amp (but of course, it all comes down to the implementation). So having one of those would allow you feed your optical input, coax SPDIF input, or the analogue inputs on your amp. Edited December 14, 2020 by krebetman 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dc79 Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 (edited) Thank you krebetman, the topping D10 route seems to be the best option for what I need Edited December 14, 2020 by Dc79 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batty Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 D10 is a great performer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloth Ears Posted December 14, 2020 Share Posted December 14, 2020 12 hours ago, Dc79 said: Hi All, I'm setting up my very first system and wondering if there is distinguishable difference in sound between the 2 cables. - QED XT40 (Oxygen Free Copper, figure eight construction, 12 AWG) - Audioquest Rocket 11 (Long-Grain Copper, twisted construction, 13 AWG) Also, is there a way for me to play the Flac files using a Macbook pro and use the DAC inside the integrated amplifier (audiolab 6000a) without using a pricey streamer in between them? Thank you guys! QED - but depending on your speakers there may be no distinguishable difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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