Do Macs sound better than Windows laptops, when using optical out ???

[Jeff Wood]

Just a quick question,

When using the optical out from a laptop to a Dac, is there any advantage to using a Mac Book Pro rather than a Windows laptop ?

I currently use a Dell XPS L501X and I think the sound is very good through my Rega dac, but always looking improvement :)

Cheers.

[struth]

Not many windows pcs gave an optical out

[Stratmangler]

Are you using ASIO or WASAPI drivers?
If you are then there shouldn't be any difference in playback.

[KindOfDaz]

When using the optical out from a laptop to a Dac, is there any advantage to using a Mac Book Pro rather than a Windows laptop ?

All depends on the quality of the optic lead. I'm only joking. There won't be any advantages. Influences only start from DAC and, obviously, a lot depends on the quality of playbacked files (mastering, level of compression)

[Stratmangler]

All depends on the quality of the optic lead. I'm only joking. There won't be any advantages. Influences only start from DAC and, obviously, a lot depends on the quality of playbacked files (mastering, level of compression)

The bit in bold is not true if you're not using the ASIO or WASAPI drivers.
In the OP's case he needs to have the driver pointed at the optical out on the 'puter, and that's always dependant on whether the media player being used can support it.

Whether the OP needs ASIO or WASAPI is down to the hardware involved - if it's legacy hardware then it's likely to be ASIO, relatively current then it's WASAPI. All the drivers do is put the playback device high in the priority list for processing, and also stops all other system audio from breaking out over it.

[Jeff Wood]

cheers guys, I'm not sure if its Asio or Wasapi, i'll check that out,

I just select spdif out on the laptop and it works.

And Struth, yes I know, I'm lucky, by coinidence I've used Dell XPS L501x laptops for years, I'm on my third one, I just think theyre really good laptops and you can get them for bargain prices on ebay, and they do have an spdif optical output.

[Spectral Morn]

Not many windows pcs gave an optical out

I had an ACER that had it, but sadly its graphics card went US so its scrap.

[Jeff Wood]

I think its a great way to listen to music by the way, I have my laptop next to me on the settee, connected to the hifi via a 10m optical cable.

Just so easy, in fact thats the problem, it makes putting records on seem like a real hassle :) Its making me lazy..

[struth]

I think its a great way to listen to music by the way, I have my laptop next to me on the settee, connected to the hifi via a 10m optical cable.

Just so easy, in fact thats the problem, it makes putting records on seem like a real hassle :) Its making me lazy..

ive one in kitchen connected to stereo with 10 metre repeater usb. works great

[struth]

I had an ACER that had it, but sadly its graphics card went US so its scrap.


Yes there were the odd one that did, but your just as well imo using the usb out. Usb sound has improved a lot in last couple of years

[Jeff Wood]

The thing is though, everyone says that the Rega Dac doesnt sound as good via USB, but I've never tried it to be honest.

[struth]

The thing is though, everyone says that the Rega Dac doesnt sound as good via USB, but I've never tried it to be honest.

I guess its taste as much as anything. But, yes some usb's are not as well done as others. The Chinese one Im using now is very good across the spectrum and it has all three plus analogue inputs and headphone amp.Even has 2 outputs. I am thinking of getting a spare actually as its all i will ever want or need I think.

[Jeff Wood]

I love my Rega Dac, its one of the best hifi products I've ever bought.

Its changed my life :), I get most of my music now from Qobuz, its all too easy..

[lovejoy]

I'd say stick with your Dell. I've never come across any advantages to using a Mac for audio over a Windows machine.

In fact I've never got on with audio out of a Mac. It's always sounded boring, grey and lifeless to me and I've tried all sorts of different flavours of Mac - Mini, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, iMac - Different MacOS versions, USB, optical outputs and software players and never found anything that really involved me musically. Of course because of the closed architecture of a Mac it's not easy to ascertain whether that's down to the operating system or the hardware, or a mixture of both.

I think everything makes a difference though. I run Roon on a server these days for all of my music storage and streaming needs. The server runs off a very nice mini-itx motherboard with an i5 processor and 16GB RAM and a discrete fanless power supply. I originally set it up with Windows 10 and RoonServer but I got sick of the constant Windows updates which would kill something nearly every time and meant had to go and log into it remotely so I could repair the damage, so I got rid of Windows and installed Ubuntu server. So it's now purely a server with no graphical interface running RoonServer. It's absolutely rock solid and to my ears it sounds better than the Windows installation did as well. Again whether that's just the way the audio drivers work in the OS, or the fact that there are far fewer overheads and the processor is barely more than idle or a combination of all of the above, I don't know. What I do know is that it works very well and sounds great.

[sq225917]

I've topped and tailed between Mac and pc over the past ten years. When properly setup the only sound difference came from different interfaces with Mac and firewire sounding best.

[Bonky]

I've topped and tailed between Mac and pc over the past ten years. When properly setup the only sound difference came from different interfaces with Mac and firewire sounding best.

My feelings too...My iMac and Apple laptop sound better than the latest incarnation of Windows on my Mac (Using Parallels Desktop). Some may say that is a bit of an unfair comparison but I seem to recall the Mac was better than Windows ⅞ on my (oldish) PC.

R

[Chunky70]

Every windows laptop i've ever had has had an optical out. I just thought it was standard!