Voltron Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 I've got nothing useful but wanted to say hi Indra and welcome back! Hope we see you around some more. Cheers! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpelg Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 (edited) I can't say much about DAC's in general. But as an owner of Magnepan 1.7i speakers, I will say that Maggies will be very sensitive & revealing to changes in your audio chain. I assume the Mini-Maggies are similar. So, I suggest having a somewhat clear idea of what improvments you are looking for if changing any individual piece, and being able to compare a few different new samples, returning what doesn't fit into your overall desired sound signature. For example, I went from a quite revealing, all solid-state chain (DAC/Pre->Stereo Amp & cables), to a more pleasing, warmer amplification section (warm class-D Amp monoblocks->Tube Pre-amp), but keeping my slightly more analytical DAC. Substituting a warmer DAC was too much of a good thing & didn't balance quite right to my ears with the warmer upstream components. Bringing back in my original DAC balanced things out better. As always, trust your own ears. Edited November 20, 2023 by jpelg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrastique Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 Hi guys! Thanks for the replies and kind welcome backs 🙂 Good point @jpelg . I think the Maggies need a bit more juice so a more powerful amp would be a future thing. But it's now mostly a matter of changing the source due to compatibilty issues. The Macbook is seriously outdated and I would prefer not to use a laptop anymore. A mac-mini would mean that I'd have to go the route of a USB-dac again. A streamer with a proper dac would also be an option but I don't know where to look. Or at least a streamer with a dac on par with the Duet and with the ability to bypass the internal one and add a more proper one down the line. I am very much in love with these Maggies though. I heard the 1.7 at a friend's place..that just blew me away. Never heard electrostats in speaker shape before. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 I don't have any experience with anything newer than the apogee element, but I'd be surprised if the quality of their conversion has gone downhill as technology improves. I know they make the Boom for $250 which seems to be a step up from the old duets for windows, Mac, and IOS with usb c. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrastique Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 On 8/27/2021 at 9:32 PM, screaming oranges said: This is exactly what I need right now. Minimal as you can get. Haven't sold anything yet and I'm already looking into getting that thing. Geez... How do you like it? Seems like a proper way to go. Would be what I need actually.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpelg Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 Are there any docks for the Mac-mini that have a lightning port to which your existing DAC can plug into (as a stop-gap, anyway)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted November 20, 2023 Report Share Posted November 20, 2023 17 minutes ago, jpelg said: Are there any docks for the Mac-mini that have a lightning port to which your existing DAC can plug into (as a stop-gap, anyway)? The duet is firewire, so you'd just nee the the thunderbolt to firewire adapter, and the thunderbolt to thunderbolt 3/4 adapter. I have all the parts, I should validate that it works with current revisions of macOS 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrastique Posted November 22, 2023 Report Share Posted November 22, 2023 Quick update: purchased a Matrix Audio Mini-i pro 3 via Ebay for 400€. Good bang for the buck I suppose and option to upgrade the dac in de future. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpelg Posted November 25, 2023 Report Share Posted November 25, 2023 On 11/19/2023 at 4:40 PM, Pars said: People tell me that SPDIF still sounds better than USB I've read similar in the interwebs. Is this "audiophilia nervosa", or based at all in reality? Anyone have experience comparing direct-USB connections to converted-USB to SPDIF for DAC's that have both inputs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted November 26, 2023 Report Share Posted November 26, 2023 https://www.acousta.at/?lang=en this looks interesting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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