Best "Sounding" version of MAC OSX?

[hytechrednek]

I've been unable to find a discussion of Sound Quality for various versions of MAC OSX, only software compatibility issues.  Any comparisons for SQ out there?  I'm using El Capitan at the moment.

[hytechrednek]

12 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

I doubt there is any.  Are you using the internal DAC?

 

External- MicroRendu / Metrum Hex

[hytechrednek]

16 hours ago, Ralf11 said:

galvanic isolation

I was using the MR wirelessly with a router but found it sounded better connected directly to the Ethernet port of the Mac Mini.  Of course you have to enable internet sharing on the Mac to do this.  As I understand it, Ethernet has galvanic isolation in any case via transformer coupling. 

[hytechrednek]

6 hours ago, Kuja said:

This is why I'm still using Mountain Lion 10.8.2.

 

Interesting comment because some years back a friend plugged his MacBook Pro into my system and it sounded better than my MBP.  We decided it was because he was running Mt Lion and I was still running Snow Leopard.  

 

Presently I am running El Capitan.  I enjoy it more than Mavericks or Yosemite, which I find rather dull sounding.  I never found a discussion of Mac OSX where the various versions have been compared for SQ.  Perhaps Tiger or Panther sounded good too but never had an opportunity to test that out.

[hytechrednek]

I purchased ML long ago and still have the installer but not sure what version it is.  My current Mac Mini will not let me install it.  I still have a 2010 Mac Mini around here that will let me use ML.  Is there a place where ML 10.8.2 can be downloaded?  Just in case?  Would like to try it.

[hytechrednek]

Happened to find this post:

 

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/improved-sound-quality-in-el-capitan.1899121/

 

[hytechrednek]

16 hours ago, Kuja said:

 

These discussions are rare, and people who have heard differences between OSX versions can get ridiculed.

 

More like branded a heretic.

[hytechrednek]

4 hours ago, Lio_B said:

You are all talking about SQ difference between OS using USB output, is it the same with FireWire audio output  ?

thanks

 

No idea.  Not many Firewire interface DAC's out there besides Weiss.  Maybe Weiss owners have some insight on this.

[hytechrednek]

On 3/19/2018 at 3:24 PM, Kuja said:

 

In my case there is a significant SQ difference between different OSX versions:

 

 

This is why I'm still using Mountain Lion 10.8.2.

Even 10.8.5 sounded worse in my case.

 

I'm using a USB Audio Class compliant device (M2Tech HiFace Two), so maybe this is the reason - no drivers from device's manufacturer, just different OSX versions having different versions of USB audio libraries.

I finally managed to get a copy of 10.8.2.  Wow!  So much better than anything else! Thanks for the tip.

[hytechrednek]

On 3/19/2018 at 5:12 PM, Kuja said:

 

The OSX version is the only difference (the drivers are part of the OS).

Now I have two HDDs in my dual boot MacMini.

El Capitan for work, ML 10.8.2 for music.

With the same versions of playback software (Amarra and Audirvana) installed, there is a significant difference in sound quality between the two OS-es.

Finally got a copy of ML 10.8.2.  You are so correct!  Anyone should be able to hear the difference.

[hytechrednek]

On 3/20/2018 at 1:02 PM, Kuja said:

I have a dual boot MacMini with two different OSX versions, that I can switch to and from at any time, so I'm not speaking from some distant memory.

The playback software and audio settings are identical in both OSX versions that I'm using. 

Different OSX versions do sound different in my case. 

Mountain Lion 10.8.2 (and 10.8.3) is noticeably better sounding than all of the newer OSX versions that i have tried.

 

Maybe this is hardware specific, maybe some audio devices that are using their proprietary drivers (not relying on OSX inbuilt USB audio support) are working fine with the latest OSX versions (or their drivers are "tuned" to newer versions).

With great difficulty I finally managed to obtain a version of 10.8.0 and then the update to 10.8.2. This gives the same improvement I heard almost 7 years ago while using a friend's MBP running ML. Everything is subtly more refined and musical or should I say, enjoyable!  

 

Apple only lets you download the 10.8.2 or 10.8.3 updates.  The only full install they have posted is for 10.8.5, which does not have the same musical quality. You'll need a 10.8.0 install disc to try this out, but it certainly is worth it. I enthusiastically recommend it to anyone.

[hytechrednek]

On 9/11/2020 at 4:02 AM, AnotherSpin said:

 

What player do you use? 

A+ Pure Music, Amarra, Decibel, Bit Perfect, Fidelia, iTunes, Cog, JRiver, etc

[hytechrednek]

16 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

I see. Now, your preference for old versions of OS X would be understood.

My preference is for musical sound.  Age has nothing to do with it.

 

[hytechrednek]

12 hours ago, AnotherSpin said:

 

Of course. Nevertheless, one may encounter (or not) certain issues while trying to use latest build of advanced player, such as HQ Player on archaic software. Or, when trying to use archaic player, such as Cog on latest OSX. Hope you will enjoy your sound.

Of course I would prefer using a later Mac OS and realize there are limitations that will be encountered with 10.8.x but the benefits outweigh the liabilities. 

 

I'm using A+ or Amarra primarily.  Cog was mentioned just to cover the breadth of all the things I've tried and have in the playback arsenal. None of these software packages bring to the party what 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 provide.  It's that significant!