[daddydoom]

I have a question about the quality of the optical mini output on the MBP.

I want to use my MBP with my current bryston dac which is in my B100 intergrated amp. It only has s/pdif or optical inputs, so if i want to go usb i will have to get a converter like the off ramp.

I would like to use the optical in because it would be alot cheaper. I have not found any information on the quality of the optical cable compared to the usb converters.

I am currently using an apogee duet to go from my MBP into my analog inputs on my intergrated amp. Which i am not unhappy with, but i would like to try my built in dac because i believe it would do a better job than the duet.

Thanks in advavce for any advice

Matt

[Crimson]

It's probably not the best, but why not give it a try? Let us know how it compares to the Apogee.

[sl_1800]

I use the optical out on my macbook and macbook pro and have not issues with the sound.  I have also heard the optical out on a mac mini, also with very good results.

[daddydoom]

Have been trying the optical for a few days. No real issue's  either. The quality of the duet sound was definetly better. Not real sure of the terms to use but, the optical seemed a little cloudy. That could be due to the cable itself which was a real cheap one. Not sure if there is a real difference in optical cables.

Think i will stay with what i have.

Matt

[jaywills]

Good afternoon, Matt.  If your optical out sounded a bit "cloudy," you might want to check your MIDI setting to see that they match your medium you're playing.  On every restart in the Mac OS, MIDI setup defaults to 96/24 which controls the iTunes playback settings.  Assuming you're playing 44/16 files, if you've not reset MIDI to 44/16, iTunes will "upsample" the files to 96/24, which will then be resampled down by your DAC to 44/16.  Repeated resampling has been reported to have an audible effect on the sound.  Just my 2 cents, but might be worth a try.  Cordially,

[daddydoom]

Thanks jaywills

I didn't think about that. I will give it try this weekend.

While checking the midi control i noticed that the duet presets at 44/24 and will not let you set it to 16. You can set it at 96/24. I don't know if it is Maestro or the duet, but I will work on it this weekend and let you know how it went next week.

Matt

[vogt4me1]

I have compared the optical output to the usb output on my recent-model iMac, the optical wins by a mile.  This is with a Peachtree Decco as dac/integrated amp, which has both toslink and usb inputs.

[daddydoom]

Went to my local highend dealer to see if they had some good quality optical cables and just so happened they were having a sale on transparent opticals because Transparent is discontinuing their optical line. extremely cheap.

I did find that the duet would not let you change the midi setting. When I unplugged the duet and installed the optical it let me change whatever I wanted.

I don't know if it was the cable or the changed setting, but the quaility of the sound improved alot. so much so that I will keep this setup and use the duet for ripping my vinyl to garage band.

Thanks for everyones help

Matt

[The monkey]

Good afternoon, Matt.  If your optical out sounded a bit "cloudy," you might want to check your MIDI setting to see that they match your medium you're playing.  On every restart in the Mac OS, MIDI setup defaults to 96/24 which controls the iTunes playback settings.  Assuming you're playing 44/16 files, if you've not reset MIDI to 44/16, iTunes will "upsample" the files to 96/24, which will then be resampled down by your DAC to 44/16.  Repeated resampling has been reported to have an audible effect on the sound.  Just my 2 cents, but might be worth a try.  Cordially,

Are you sure about that?  My MIDI stays at 44/16 until I manually switch it (i.e., when I restart at 44/16, MIDI stays at 44/16).

[dspringham]

I've never experienced the MIDI resetting after start-up ... always holds the previous setting until manually changed.

Dave

[daddydoom]

Yes I am sure. I just changed everything back to the duet. In the format settings it gives me the options of 44 to 96 but only gives me the 24 bit option. If I unplug the Duet. All the options return.

[AllynW]

I have used both Toslink mini and USB with HagUsb converter.  I bought the UsbHag because I had read threads down playing Toslink and singing the praises of usb.

I?ve gone back and forth for over a year and I hear no difference.  I current use the HagUsb converter only because I paid a 100 bucks for it.