Hello Community & Recommendation

[Solutionbubbles]

Hello Community,

 

nice to meet you. For a few month now I have a new MacBook Pro but until now I never had the time to go deeper into the field of audio equipment. As far as I know the MacBook seems to be a good starting point...

After spending some time online, this community seems to be the right place to extend my knowlege in this field, which is still pretty much new to me. Hopefully one day I will be able to also help people being as green behind their ears as me

 

Hm, maybe a few words on my audio setup:

- MacBook Pro (2GHz Intel Core i7 & 4GB)

- Playback software: AudirvanaPlus

- Headphones: AKG K701

 

So this is it. And until a few days ago I hought it would stay like that. But now - I guess I know - that I can get a much better sound using a headphone dac or/and amp.

To my little knowlege it seems that that there are two processes between my headphones and Mac that I can enhance with additional hardware: the conversion from digital to analogue and the transforming of the analogue signal to something made for the headphone (This is what the amp does, right?). And this can be done by either one or two pices of hardware.

 

If possible I would prefer to do this with one pice of hardware. And there is no need for killer high end, since I need it mostly to only listen to flac and MP3 files - mostly flac. A friend of mine now told me to get the "Apogee Duet2" for my needs, but I am not sure if this is the right solution for me.

 

So do you have any other/better recommendations?

 

I hope you can help me out, finding the missing pice for my setup, since for a rookie like me the mass of hardware is a big challange

 

 

Thank you very much for your support in advance!

PS: I really did not know where to put my topic, but I hope to have found the right spot.

 

 

[bikemig]

There are a huge number of choices for a headphone amp/dac combo. What is your budget? You might want to consider the centrance dacmini cx which has been getting great reviews for $800. I'd also check out schiit audio (that really is the name of the company): http://schiit.com/

 

Your AKG 701 will sound better with an amp and you can do better than the dac in your macbook pro.

 

[Solutionbubbles]

Thank you very much for the quick reply!

 

Most important: I would really like to try staying under 300$

 

So I checked Schiit's Asgard, seems to be pretty solid. What is your take on the "Apogee Duet2"?

 

[AudioDoctor]

Would be a fine entry into High Quality audio from your Macbook.

 

[bikemig]

The Apogee Duet 2 runs $600 and the OP says his budget is $300. If you want a headphone amp and dac for that price, you need to look at some of the amp/dac combos from China. I'd post this question on headfi and see what people say there.

 

[Solutionbubbles]

Thank you all so much for that great informations. I was totally not aware of the price range for this sort of equipment. OK, so I'll double

 

600$, what are your recommendations on that? Is the Duet2 the right thing for me? It seems a little to me, that it is mostly for recording...

 

[bikemig]

If you are using your laptop in more than one place, get something mobile like the centrance dacport ($350 I think). It is a usb dac/headphone amp: http://centrance.com/products/dacport/

 

[Solutionbubbles]

I would only use it for home listening...

I was just chatting with a person from Apogee. Of course they are biased, but anyways I like the Duet2 more and more.

 

What do you think of it? Will it be working fine with my headphones (AKG 701)?

 

[dallasjustice]

is a nice sounding usb headphone dac for $199.

 

[bikemig]

Figuring out whether a particular amp will work well with your headphones is more of a black art than matching a receiver with speakers. If you want to get into the details, check out NWavguy's blog who has a lot of very good basic informative posts on this. Or ask the manufacturer and ask them what they think. Most manufacturers don't provide online the kind of information you might need to figure out how well their amps will drive your headphones.

 

[AudioDoctor]

the Duet 2 is easily portable, easily able to drive your headphones, and has wonderful MAC support considering Mac is all they do.

 

It is just as much for listening as it is for recording. If you don't mind doubling your budget to 600 bucks, you will probably not be disappointed with the Duet 2.

 

[Solutionbubbles]

Hi,

 

just wanted to let you know: I went with the "Apogee Duet2"

Got it for a good price!

 

Thanks for helping me out on this one. Now I just need to find out how to set up AudirvanaPlus for the Apogee...

 

So maybe I hear from you in the software area.

 

Thanks again!

 

[AudioDoctor]

let us know how you like it!

 

[Solutionbubbles]

Now I need to get AudirvanaPlus going with it...

To bad Integer Modeis not supported by Lion

 

[Solutionbubbles]

Today I had my first session of listening with my new Duet2.

IT WAS OUTSTANDING.

The sound is much more rich and detailed.

 

Using the Duet2 is very easy and intuitive. One tiny tiny letdown is he usb port of the Duet2. It is kind of shaky. I mean the usb plug is not totaly fixed; it is possible to move it, alittle to the right and left. Feels just a little unstable.

 

Can anyone having the Duet2 maybe comment on this. Is this a general thing or a "problem" of my unit?

 

 

Thanks.