Benchmark Dac 1 and Powerbook G4

[stuartzs]

I am about to take the plunge with a Benchmark Dac 1 USB. I currently have a Powerbook G4 (with Tiger) and am wondering if it will be sufficient to run my system using ITunes 8.02. (To complete the picture, my music will be stored on an external Lacie drive). I have been advised to get a Mac Mini because the Intel Dual Core will work better than what I've got. Is this true or can I make do with what I have? And if the mini makes sense, how much better will my sound be? Are we only talking marginal?

 

Thanks

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Stuartz - Purchasing a Mac Mini is the last thing I would do in your situation. If you are satisfied with the sound and you have evidence that leads you to believe your powerbook is the cause then look at a Mini. I think you'll be just fine with your powerbook.

 

[stuartzs]

Thanks Chris,

 

I am a little confused. Were you saying try out my Powerbook before purchasing a mini?

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Exactly, use the powerbook an if you think there's a problem then think about upgrading it to a Mini.

 

[arin]

Hi stuartzs,

one of my four Mac set ups is made of a Powerbook G4 1MHz with a 1GB of RAM, Leopard 10.5.6, iTunes 8.0.2 and a Benchmark DAC 1 USB and I must say that it works almost perfectly.

The only thing I'd complain about is that sometimes the Powerbook is sluggish in responding to commands, especially when changing track or when it's in save screen mode, but apart from that it really works!

 

If I were you I'd follow Chris advice and wait before buying the Mini.

 

Ciao

Arin

 

[stuartzs]

Thanks Arin,

 

I'm running Tiger with a G4 1.5 MHz with 512 of RAM, iTunes 8.0.2. Do I need to upgrade both my memory and Operating System?

 

[arin]

You're welcome stuartzs!

 

I don't think you have to update OS, as long as you have the latest Tiger, that means 10.4.11 and the latest QuickTime.

As for the memory, if you are just going to use iTunes I think you can live with 512MB...but as memory nowadays is very cheap, I would do it all the same!

 

Ciao

 

Arin

 

[stuartzs]

Thanks again.

 

[flatmap]

One of my set-ups consists of an older iBook with a G4 chip, 512Mb Ram, and Tiger 10.4.11. The sound is great. Further details: my external HDDs are on the Firewire bus, but I take the sound off of USB. Also I'm using AIFF rather than ALAC; you may want to evaluate if that makes a difference for you.

 

So no need to jump to the newer chipset in my opinion.

 

I'd advise that you have extra HDDs and a good backup scheme for your music.

 

[iansen]

I agree with the posts to your question.

 

Although i wonder if you might wish to take your RAM up to 1GB: you may find that iTunes becomes a little "clunky" - for example, when browsing your collection in "artwork viewable" mode while simultaneously playing other tracks - if your library becomes very large.

 

Additionally, do ensure that you make back-ups of your external hard disc. You will be surprised how often data gets corrupted [i certainly was] - by this I mean losing artwork or certain tracks not playing. [Of course, the use of a RAID array would solve this particular problem.]

 

Don't forget that you can then control iTunes on your powerbook with an iPhone...