MACBOOK DAC or DACMAGIC 100

[DoGood1981]

I've done too much research and have gotten lost!
I have hifi speakers and receiver (receiver only has RCA input)

I'm getting into Hi-res audio - Tidal, Soundcloud Plus, and whatever DL of music I can collect.

My main roadblock is I am hearing that early 2015 Macbook Pro has a fine DAC 192/24 capabilities. *but I read that you can only get the 192/24 off the MBP by using toslink, which my receiver does not have optic inputs.
I hear it is just as good as a $200 range Dac, ie Dacmagic 100.
On vice versa I hear the opposite!
I also hear you only hear the difference in an external DAC is for headphones. Which I do not use. On a side note, the external DAC has the optic input to get the plug capability from the MAC...

So...to get things started, do I run with my MBP dac using basic headphone audio to RCA to receiver? or do I get a external DAC (Dacmagic 100) and use the mini toslink headphone adapter to optic to the dac then RCA to the receiver.

Any help? Thanks!

 

[Dswankey]

2015 Macbook Pro.........do I run with my MBP dac using basic headphone audio to RCA to receiver? or do I get a external DAC (Dacmagic 100) and use the mini toslink headphone adapter to optic to the dac then RCA to the receiver.

Any help? Thanks!

First question is yes using a 3.5mm Male to 2-Male RCA Adapter.

2nd question is a preference and would be your call to make if you want to spend $200

 

[linuxfan]

DoGood1981, yes, the MacBook Pro (and Mac's in general) do have "good" onboard DAC's, but this is relatively speaking, so possibly only "good" compared to other computer onboard sound chips.

I hear it (the internal DAC) is just as good as a $200 range Dac, ie Dacmagic 100.

That sounds like grossly over-optimistic hype from Apple fans, and not necessarily hifi fans.
Do a Google search for "external DAC for Mac" or "external DAC for MacBook Pro" and you will see countless reports of hifi fans (notice I stipulated "hifi") who hear improved sound from a Mac with an external DAC. For example, read the third post here -
https://www.stereophile.com/content...t-audible-difference-vs-laptop-headphone-jack

The question is more at which price-point is the difference noticeable, or more to the point, enjoyable.
Personally, I suspect that sub-$100 DAC's might not make much of a difference ... but proud owners of the Topping D10 or the FiiO E10K might disagree!
Once over $100, with DAC's such as the Schiit Modi 3 or Topping D30, I think the difference will be more clear.
And the two DAC's mentioned in the previous link are around $200.

I read that you can only get the 192/24 off the MBP by using toslink

Either you are reading very bad information on the web, or you are misreading good information. Toslink - or to use the correct term - optical s/pdif, is limited to 96kHz sample rate on the MacBook Pro.
24bit 192kHz is possible via USB, with DAC's that have a UAC2-compatible USB decoding chip - all of the DAC's mentioned above meet this specification.
But beware - for hires playback on the Mac operating system there are some configuration changes necessary, see here -
https://www.macworld.com/article/1160651/how-to-find-and-play-high-resolution-audio-on-the-mac.html
It's difficult to jump between audio files of different samplerates, and keep the audio bit-perfect - which is why many prefer to use third-party "audio engine" applications to automate this - such as Pure Music, Amarra, Audirvana, or Bitperfect.

do I get a external DAC (Dacmagic 100)

Based on other people's listening tests, the answer is yes. But trust your own ears - audition a DAC and determine if the difference is noticeable to YOU.
Also, the Dacmagic 100 is a decent unit, but similar calibre DAC's can be had for less money - such as the Schiit Modi 3 and Topping D30 which I mentioned earlier.

 

[bigx5murf]

Nothing wrong with the Cambridge DacMagic, it's a fine device. But it's essentially a device that was released in 2012 with little to no changes since. A lot has happened in the DAC market since then. It does have some unique input/output methods that might be attractive in very specific systems. But in terms of pure performance, many more affordable alternatives today can match or exceed it at much lower cost.

 

[Yamaki]

I am not sure where you are getting your information however the improvements an external DAC brings to a system are not limited to listening via headphones.

 

[linuxfan]

I also hear you only hear the difference in an external DAC is for headphones.

There's a grain of truth in this claim, so I can see where the misinformation has come from.
Some DAC's, but not all, have both line-output and headphone-outputs. Some people who have tried external DAC's with their headphones report a significant or even dramatic improvement in sound quality - but this is almost certainly due to the headphone amplifier contained in the DAC unit, not the DAC itself.

Headphones can have different impedance ratings, and the ones with higher impedances are more difficult to drive - they require higher current, so the headphone amplifier to which they are connected needs to be suitably powerful.
External DAC's often rate well in this regard, especially compared to portable computing devices such as laptops or smartphones, which often have modest headphone driving ability.

It's important to understand that if you audition a DAC using headphones, you are not just listening to a DAC -
you are listening to a DAC in combination with a headphone amplifier.

 

[imral3]

@DoGood1981 , let us know what you decide on trying and liking!