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Advice on getting music from my MacBook Pro please!!

Weiss-Man

Weiss-Man

pfm Member
Hello all, I am in the throws of changing from a headphone system to a speaker system. Out has gone; TRON Altares headphone amplifier, Focal Utopia headphones, Sennheiser HD800S, and I have recently replaced an iMac with a MacBook Pro. I have today taken a plunge and had delivered a used Gryphon Diablo 300 with integrated DAC module as the first piece. Having unboxed it and given it a wipe over it is now sitting powerless and very silently in its new home awaiting some speakers, which I am in the process of narrowing down to half a dozen pairs at most. I’m not worried about room shaking bass, preferring a musical and open sound, with agile tight bottom end.

The initial question is does anyone have any thoughts on the best way to get music (Tidal) from the Mac into the Gryphon DAC? When I used a McIntosh headphone amp a few years ago with built in DAC I much preferred optical to USB sound, however I’m aware that the Macs now don’t support digital out from their headphone socket. Would a USB C to optical adapter ruin the sound quality, and am I just better off going USB? Would appreciate if anyone has any thoughts/experience of this.

Many thanks
 
How far away is the Mac from the DAC, initial thought is go with USB, that’s the highest spec input, it’ll be galvanically isolated and should sound great. Looks like a helluva piece of kit.
 
A macbook as with any laptop/portable device is designed for just that purpose, portability. Having to hook up a usebaaaa just to play music is nonsense.

why not a raspberry pi, with a suitable hat, running something like volumio, super low power, and will leave you and your laptop to roam just as you should. The whole shebang including volumio licence should be no more than 120 quid.
 
I love the Pi, but it's a mismatch with the Gryphon!

Is it an M1 Mac or Intel? What's considered the "best" input on the Gryphon?

You could try with USB first, but perhaps also look into a hi-end converter like Denafrips Hermes/Gaia, Mutec, Audiobyte Hydra etc.
 
That's a very serious, very capable amp. You really need to have an excellent source to feed it. The Mac Book Pro is OK, but is far from optimum. I have a MBP and the USB out vs my current arrangement is just no comparison. I have directly compared it myself, so speaking from experience. Plus, do you really want your MBP tethered to your amp?

You'll find many on here who'll suggest a Pi, but I really don't think that approach would suit either your aesthetic or SQ requirements.

If it's just for streamed content you could try a Node 2i (forget the MBP for music) digi out to DAC. App on iPad works very well indeed.

However, if you want to have a really excellent, flexible, source then an Auralic Aries G1, or G2.1 if you want to splash the cash would be my choice.

Believe me, the streamer part of the audio chain really does make a difference, contrary to the belief of many on here!
 
A Node is no better than a well configured Pi. The Pi controllers are numerous and a couple of IOS based are better than the Node app. The beauty of the Pi is that it can be coupled with LMS which gives comprehensive access to virtually all of the services you will ever need +. It can be boxed in something to match the Gryphon or you can hide it.Invisible. Many more expensive streamers are built on Pi’s, Pi derivatives or something similar. With the right hat it can compete with a range of so called high end streamers. And to be honest, your Mac will be very capable. I know many who just use a MacBook and they sound great into a decent dac.
 
Del monaco said:
A Node is no better than a well configured Pi. The Pi controllers are numerous and a couple of IOS based are better than the Node app. The beauty of the Pi is that it can be coupled with LMS which gives comprehensive access to virtually all of the services you will ever need +. It can be boxed in something to match the Gryphon or you can hide it.Invisible. Many more expensive streamers are built on Pi’s, Pi derivatives or something similar. With the right hat it can compete with a range of so called high end streamers. And to be honest, your Mac will be very capable. I know many who just use a MacBook and they sound great into a decent dac.
Click to expand...

In your opinion, of course. My opinion, based upon experience, differs.
 
...I have quite a collection of Macs and the new ones sound better than the old ones. The new M1 based Macs are a step up again.

I'd put my "very well set up Pi" somewhere between new M1 Macs and the 2011/12 models.

Also, my Sony phone sounds better than the Pi.
 
There are many reasons why it gets an unfair press in IMO:
These include:

-those that have never tried it but still have an opinion and condemn it
-those that try it but give up because they think it’s a faff to set up and therefore condemn it based on their own failure
-those that have never explored the vast array of software out there that is so much more advanced than many rather limited commercial offerings
-those that only believe a piece of equipment is valid if it costs a fortune and matches their other equipment
-those that think that if the streamer is made by a more commercial company it must be better

I just think, aren’t I a lucky boy to be able to try it, be able to configure it, screen it and power it with the frankly superb PiCoreplayer software and LMS server software. Looks nice with its 7 inch screen and jacket! All in my humble opinion of course.
 
All in my humble opinion of course.
Click to expand...

And mine. I’ve used a wide variety of devices for streaming over the years, including various Macs up to and including my M1 MBP and I always revert to my pi/LMS/picoreplayer setup.

The biggest hurdle to overcome by some distance is psychological - in that the pi is cheap as chips and looks it, so it can’t be that good right? Wrong IME...
 
Hip-Priest said:
And mine. I’ve used a wide variety of devices for streaming over the years, including various Macs up to and including my M1 MBP and I always revert to my pi/LMS/picoreplayer setup.

The biggest hurdle to overcome by some distance is psychological - in that the pi is cheap as chips and looks it, so it can’t be that good right? Wrong IME...
Click to expand...
I think that is correct. Many makers know that customers are often lured by looks. Apple is a good example. My son has just put together a Windows based computer than leaves the Mac standing. The Mac looks nice though.
 
Hip-Priest said:
And mine. I’ve used a wide variety of devices for streaming over the years, including various Macs up to and including my M1 MBP and I always revert to my pi/LMS/picoreplayer setup.

The biggest hurdle to overcome by some distance is psychological - in that the pi is cheap as chips and looks it, so it can’t be that good right? Wrong IME...
Click to expand...

Interesting, could you please say a bit more about the 2 set ups: M1 / Pi (Pi version, PSUs etc.) connections, DAC etc.?
 
Thanks for all your input, I really appreciate it. Due to money spent on the amp and shortly on a pair of speakers, I really need to utalise the MacBook. I have also been told by the supplying dealer that the Mac won’t get the best out of the amp/DAC but I have to be realistic about what I’m spending. It seems a general consensus that a USB-C to USB B cable is the way forward. If there are other options up to £500 max to replace the MacBook then yes I would look at that, but can’t do £1,000’s on a streamer. Thanks for the input.
 
Yes, I’ve tried my Pi set up against a range of streamers and I have not parted with it yet. Why would I want to spend more to achieve similar or even less?
 
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