Adding multi-channel, Bluetooth and wireless to an old-school setup.

[Raphaz]

Absolutely not! I have a local NAS with a couple of 2TB HDD's. Although I have been using the internet continuously since Compuserve offered the service via a 2400 baud modem I don't like having to go to the internet to listen to music, to access my files or to run an application that I own. Windows 11 and Office 365 have been somewhat of a problem for me. The default for everything Microsoft is currently publishing is to use cloud services. I had to jump through some hoops with Office 365 and Windows 11 to store my files locally.


If you use a USB port or the optical port Apple hides in the headphone jack to attach a DAC you automatically bypass the PC's internal DAC. It was an easy decision for me. I asked myself one question. "If music is important to me, would I prefer using a $2 DAC buried on the motherboard or a decent external DAC?". I pondered the same sort of issue between MP3 (lossy compression) or FLAC (lossless compression). Suffice it to say, none of my music files are MP3.

I have compared the sound of various external DAC's with the onboard ones on the PC's I have access to. In every instance the external DAC sounded better. That includes some very inexpensive (<$40) DAC's. It was no contest. Desktop or laptop the external DAC always sounded better.

Very helpful. Thank you!
Some external DACs you can recommend?

 

[Raphaz]

Absolutely not! I have a local NAS with a couple of 2TB HDD's. Although I have been using the internet continuously since Compuserve offered the service via a 2400 baud modem I don't like having to go to the internet to listen to music, to access my files or to run an application that I own. Windows 11 and Office 365 have been somewhat of a problem for me. The default for everything Microsoft is currently publishing is to use cloud services. I had to jump through some hoops with Office 365 and Windows 11 to store my files locally.


If you use a USB port or the optical port Apple hides in the headphone jack to attach a DAC you automatically bypass the PC's internal DAC. It was an easy decision for me. I asked myself one question. "If music is important to me, would I prefer using a $2 DAC buried on the motherboard or a decent external DAC?". I pondered the same sort of issue between MP3 (lossy compression) or FLAC (lossless compression). Suffice it to say, none of my music files are MP3.

I have compared the sound of various external DAC's with the onboard ones on the PC's I have access to. In every instance the external DAC sounded better. That includes some very inexpensive (<$40) DAC's. It was no contest. Desktop or laptop the external DAC always

 

[JoeESP9]

Very helpful. Thank you!
Some external DACs you can recommend?

I have a Topping D-10S ($109 @ Amazon) connected to a laptop as the DAC for my bedroom headphone rig. It does PCM to 24 bit/384KHz and DSD to 256. It drives a Little Dot MKII (OTL tube) and a pair of HiFi Man HE-4XX. For streaming and playing music from local storage I prefer a laptop as it has a lot more flexibility than a purpose-built streamer. Lower priced laptops are IMO perfect for playing and streaming music. Playing music does not require lots of memory or lots of speed. A 5 YO laptop with 4GB of RAM is more than adequate. If you intend having some music stored locally an external USB HDD will be more than adequate.

IMO/E the music player application has a definite effect on the sound. Try any and all of the free ones. Whichever one you settle on make sure you are using WASAPI (designed for Win10) or ASIO (for older Windows versions). They both bypass the Windows mixer which is known to have a negative effect on sound. ASIO and WASAPI are included with most music player applications for PC.

An Emotiva XDA-2 is connected to my music server laptop via USB. its output goes to the ARC SP-9 preamp in my main system.

Owning and using something is the highest recommendation I can give.

FWIW, I use Music Bee for rock/pop/jazz and Media Monkey for classical and opera. They each have slightly different layouts. MusicBee lends itself to the way I usually cherry pick rock/pop/jazz selections. With classical I tend to play the entire recording. For me, Media Monkey's layout is better for classical.

 

[Raphaz]

I have a Topping D-10S ($109 @ Amazon) connected to a laptop as the DAC for my bedroom headphone rig. It does PCM to 24 bit/384KHz and DSD to 256. It drives a Little Dot MKII (OTL tube) and a pair of HiFi Man HE-4XX. For streaming and playing music from local storage I prefer a laptop as it has a lot more flexibility than a purpose-built streamer. Lower priced laptops are IMO perfect for playing and streaming music. Playing music does not require lots of memory or lots of speed. A 5 YO laptop with 4GB of RAM is more than adequate. If you intend having some music stored locally an external USB HDD will be more than adequate.

IMO/E the music player application has a definite effect on the sound. Try any and all of the free ones. Whichever one you settle on make sure you are using WASAPI (designed for Win10) or ASIO (for older Windows versions). They both bypass the Windows mixer which is known to have a negative effect on sound. ASIO and WASAPI are included with most music player applications for PC.

An Emotiva XDA-2 is connected to my music server laptop via USB. its output goes to the ARC SP-9 preamp in my main system.

Owning and using something is the highest recommendation I can give.

FWIW, I use Music Bee for rock/pop/jazz and Media Monkey for classical and opera. They each have slightly different layouts. MusicBee lends itself to the way I usually cherry pick rock/pop/jazz selections. With classical I tend to play the entire recording. For me, Media Monkey's layout is better for classical.

Thank you so much! Lots to digest.
FYI: for streaming Spotify and such, I currently use an older MacBook connected directly to my R-2000 (headphone out), and I control the player from my other MacBook or from my iPhone.

 

[JoeESP9]

I suggest you try a reasonably priced (not bottom level) DAC and compare the difference, if any, between a USB DAC and the built in DAC. Who knows, you might not hear any difference. If you don't just return the DAC.

However, if you do hear a difference and even the most semi-serious listeners do, you can thank me for sending you down the rabbit hole.

The free Spotify is a severely lossy compressed stream and to some doesn't sound good enough for anything but basic auditioning. This is generally the case with most free services. With streaming you definitely get what you pay for.

FWIW: I use free Spotify, Radio Paradise and Tune In. I also pay for an Amazon CD quality stream. Radio Paradise is a little unusual. They have several streams that are curated by live DJ's. They expose me to music I'd never have known of without them. Tune In has streams from radio stations from most of the world.

 

[Raphaz]

Will def look into a DAC (or a receiver/DAC/network player combo).

 

[Raphaz]

Some stupid DAC questions:

In my current system the DAC goes where - after the laptop to bypass the internal MacBook DAC, and before the receiver?
Would a headphone amp (like Schiiit Audio Magni Heresy) do the job in my current setup?

Can I also use a DAC in a similar way (bypass internal DAC) to improve the sound of my CD player?

Is there a reverse scenario where the analog signal out of the R-2000 receiver is translated to a digital signal which then can be sent to wireless/digital speakers?

 

[Raphaz]

Some stupid DAC questions:

In my current system the DAC goes where - after the laptop to bypass the internal MacBook DAC, and before the receiver?
Would a headphone amp (like Schiiit Audio Magni Heresy) do the job in my current setup?

Can I also use a DAC in a similar way (bypass internal DAC) to improve the sound of my CD player?

Is there a reverse scenario where the analog signal out of the R-2000 receiver is translated to a digital signal which then can be sent to wireless/digital speakers?

 

[Raphaz]

Anyone?

 

[Raphaz]

I’m not sure if I got this all straight. Maybe my follow-up questions were maybe not so clear.

Let me try:

Streaming/playing from MacBook Pro laptop;

from laptop to external DAC (like a Filio K3, Topping D-10S, Emotiva XDA-2, BlueSound Nod or similar), bypassing the Mac’s internal DAC - via USB port or the headphone out;

from the DAC it goes either

to my vintage receiver (Aux or Tape in?)

or/and directly to wireless speakers.


If the above is correct:

• how do I bypass the Mac’s internal DAC, and does that improve the sound
• from the laptop out, do I use the USB port or the headphone out?
• on my receiver do I use the Tape in or the Aux in port?
• can I drive wired speakers and wireless at the same time
• given the above setting, one question is still open: how can I drive multiple pairs of speakers and control their EQ and volume settings individually (per pair) and have a general volume control as well?
• can I use the same DAC to also improve the sound of my CD player? If so how would I bypass the CD players DAC

As for wireless streaming: I guess I can still decide if I want to connect the laptop via Ethernet directly to the router or use WiFi.

Unfortunately there are not many showrooms where I can test-listen a (let’s say) Bluesound Nod with a vintage receiver or compare DACs in a similar setting, or even have it all explained. So thank you all for your support!