Again, right from the beginning please......

[Gordon Steadman]

I am but an egg.

Sadly, an increasingly deaf one.

In the music room, the Quads and the Stereo 20 sit forlorn expect for the occasional visit from my wife when she needs a proper music fix.

So I am increasingly reliant upon my Mac and iTunes and a good set of phones.

But.... I am very aware that I am missing out. The basic sound is OK but there is a lot of air and space around the music that I remember very well that is missing.

I have been using a Pro-ject Headbox amp fed from the 4mm jack at the back of the Mac.

I was playing the other evening and tried feeding my old Philips CDR770 with the signal. I have always found that this machine makes superb copies although as a player, it was a bit second rate to put it mildly. I thus assumed that it has a decent DAC in there somewhere.

The sound is much better. I just have an audio disc in with analogue selected. But I am still using the same feed so it can't be anything to do with the DAC presumably.

What do I do??? I am trying to avoid spending too much!! The machine won't accept a digital feed from USB but can use a Toslink input.

Am I going to be wasting my time using the Philips with optical input or must I bite the bullet and buy a new DAC and possibly even a new headphone amp. I was really surprised that the old recorder sounds better than the Pro-ject.

Come to that, is this going to work anyway?? (I have lost my old optical cable and am waiting for a new one to arrive)

All very frustrating, I've gone from being the family expert to knowing naff all overnight. Damn computers.

A beginners guide would be really useful!! I read all the words but somehow the meaning seems to float above my head somewhere.

[John]

Hi Gordon
Probably a DAC with a decent headphone built in will give you the most bang for your bucks. Lots of reasonable DACs around for around £200.
Let us know your budget

[DSJR]

You know, for a giddle, you can get a very competent DAC for under £30 to see if it takes you in the right direction, playing into the HiFi...

http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/0...02-review.html

http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm

Epiphany Acoustics do an uprated USB DAC for under a ton and there's a tasty looking USB DAC/Headphone amp for well under £200 that was specifically designed to drive a wide range of top-end headphones...

For a giggle, I bought a Fiio D5 recently for £20 on Amazon. It does the basics so well, yet doesn't measure very well as a DAC or as a headpjhone amp. The behringer above is much better and if you can fine-solder, it seems the headphone amp can be souped up way beyond its humble origins..

Just providing some basic info. You're welcome to ignore it and aim higher from the start

[Gordon Steadman]

Hi Gordon
Probably a DAC with a decent headphone built in will give you the most bang for your bucks. Lots of reasonable DACs around for around £200.
Let us know your budget

Hi John,

Budgets..... that depends if you speak to me or the wife!! Sadly, I have just managed to bugger up my back for the second time in two years which means that income ceases for the present.

I will obviously wait until the Optical cable arrives but if that is still not good enough then its a few begging sessions, tea in bed, that sort of thing.

[Gordon Steadman]

You know, for a giddle, you can get a very competent DAC for under £30 to see if it takes you in the right direction, playing into the HiFi...

http://nwavguy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/0...02-review.html

http://www.thomann.de/gb/behringer_ucontrol_uca_202.htm

Epiphany Acoustics do an uprated USB DAC for under a ton and there's a tasty looking USB DAC/Headphone amp for well under £200 that was specifically designed to drive a wide range of top-end headphones...

For a giggle, I bought a Fiio D5 recently for £20 on Amazon. It does the basics so well, yet doesn't measure very well as a DAC or as a headpjhone amp. The behringer above is much better and if you can fine-solder, it seems the headphone amp can be souped up way beyond its humble origins..

Just providing some basic info. You're welcome to ignore it and aim higher from the start

Thanks for the reply. The cheapie seems like a good place to start but see my reply to John!!!!

[StanleyB]

Gordon, all very good suggestions. But you could do far worse than giving my own Bushmaster DAC with integrated headphone amp a try. And if you let me know the impedance of your headphones I can even adjust it for an output level suitable for the hard of hearing.

[Gordon Steadman]

Gordon, all very good suggestions. But you could do far worse than giving my own Bushmaster DAC with integrated headphone amp a try. And if you let me know the impedance of your headphones I can even adjust it for an output level suitable for the hard of hearing.

Hmm,

Six months free trial and then...............

[Gordon Steadman]

Gordon, all very good suggestions. But you could do far worse than giving my own Bushmaster DAC with integrated headphone amp a try. And if you let me know the impedance of your headphones I can even adjust it for an output level suitable for the hard of hearing.

Or of course, if you are into wooden art, I am a turner and I'm sure we could come to some agreement about a future heirloom!!!!

[StanleyB]

Hi Gordon, I have to consult SWMBO with regards to any additional furniture first.

[Gordon Steadman]

Hi Gordon, I have to consult SWMBO with regards to any additional furniture first.

Well, if you want to see what I do, follow the link to Flickr on my website below!!!

Its the turnings now, the back prevents the bigger stuff!