what am i missing?

[lt.slothr0p]

at the risk of outing myself as an audiophilistine, i do not use a DAC to play music from my macbook or iphone. (most of the time, i'm listening to vinyl on a: technics sl-b2, grado black cart, and a grado 8mz stylus.) all of my music comes through a pioneer sx-850, and polk rt-400 speakers. for playing digital music, i have a cheapo cord with rca's on one end, and 3.5mm on the other. this setup, sans DAC, going from headphone jack to aux input, sounds fantastic to me. side-by-side comparisons of the same track on my tt and coming from a digital source scarcely sound different to me. the digital music might be a little more sterile, possibly a touch thinner, but on the whole, very similar and very satisfactory. (ignoring of course the volume difference between the phono and aux inputs) my question is this: do my macbook and iPhone have passable DACs built in, or would even an entry-level DAC really improve the sound i'm currently getting from digital sources? (i guess the third possibility is, are my ears ****?) again, i am quite happy with this setup, but why let a little thing like contentment spoil curiosity?

 

[prighello]

Honestly it might be that your speakers aren't resolving enough to tell the difference. I owned RT400s for over a decade and they aren't the last word in resolution. They do rock the house though, especially if placed close to the wall that rear port will produce thunderous bass.

As for do dacs in general make a difference. I'd say absolutely in my experience. Various USB dacs have been a huge difference over a headphone out on various notebooks and phones I've owned. How much difference will depend upon if the remaining components in your signal chain can take advantage of the added detail.

Good luck

 

[BMWCCA]

do my macbook and iPhone have passable DACs built in, or would even an entry-level DAC really improve the sound i'm currently getting from digital sources? (i guess the third possibility is, are my ears ****?) again, i am quite happy with this setup, but why let a little thing like contentment spoil curiosity?

Possibly the answer is yes to all your questions. If you don't get extra clarity, extended range, and more full sound from an external DAC, then there is no reason to add one. I prefer the sound of my iPod Classic when using the USB connection in my TEAC CD player. I far prefer the sound of my MacBook using USB through my Emotiva XDA-2 than from the ear-phone outlet to RCAs into my pre-amp. My favorite part of using the DAC is the remote control volume and source-switching I gain in my vintage system through adding the Emotiva. Started as a bonus but now I find it indispensable and would do it all again even if there was no audio improvement.

 

[rwartner]

You have a DAC in your phone. To utilize an external DAC you first need to bypass the phone DAC. I am not familiar with iPhone so can't tell you how, but figuring that out would be my first step. Then deciding if it was worth it.

 

[JoeESP9]

I've tried using the headphone output directly into my system using various laptop and desktop computers. In every case an external USB DAC outperformed the headphone jack.

 

[4-2-7]

I say if you like what you have and the way it sounds cool, it also leaves you more money to buy more music.

 

[mac mini]

I've found Apple products vary in sound quality. For example my iPod Classic sounds better in the car using the audio jack when compared to an iPod Nano. I've read online the newer Mac Mini's optical port are more refined as compared to my Mac Mini 2009.

The fun of audio is trying things out. Why not audition something in your home, and if you don't like it, return it? If you go this route try 2 different DACS at two price points your comfortable with and make sure you report back to us.