Audio from iMac

[GougMan]

As my old PC is starting to die slowly, I may be looking at replacing it with an iMac. I've played around with iMacs at the Apple store ( ) for a while and I quite like them but had a question about the audio outputs.

I read somewhere that the iMac headphone output/line out automatically detects if it is a analogue or digital (S/PDIF) device and adjusts accordingly. My query is that can you run an optical connection from a DAC/amp to an iMac easily (rather than using USB) ? I know they have small optical adapters that convert a standard optical cable to mini connector but these are digital only (which I understand are different to the standard 3.5mm analogue jack).

Can you use a mini adapter from the iMac and get a standard optical cable from the DAC/amp to connect through the adapter into the iMac output ?

Apologies if this has been asked before.

[Drubbing]

As my old PC is starting to die slowly, I may be looking at replacing it with an iMac. I've played around with iMacs at the Apple store ( ) for a while and I quite like them but had a question about the audio outputs.

I read somewhere that the iMac headphone output/line out automatically detects if it is a analogue or digital (S/PDIF) device and adjusts accordingly. My query is that can you run an optical connection from a DAC/amp to an iMac easily (rather than using USB) ? I know they have small optical adapters that convert a standard optical cable to mini connector but these are digital only (which I understand are different to the standard 3.5mm analogue jack).

Can you use a mini adapter from the iMac and get a standard optical cable from the DAC/amp to connect through the adapter into the iMac output ?

Apologies if this has been asked before.

The iMac only has a 3.5mm audio output, so optical needs to use this, don't know if SPDIF can. I use USB and it auto detects audio devices. Optical connection didn't and you had to manually select and deselect. If SQ was improved I'd have lived with it, but it wasn't.

[matt_d_19]

I suggest that you at least look at PCs before you get a Mac. They're miles ahead in terms of value and there aren't really any good reasons to get a Mac, in my opinion.

[Riverback]

Better yet, Build a Hackintosh
http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2011/09/th ... ackintosh/

[Drubbing]

I suggest that you at least look at PCs before you get a Mac. They're miles ahead in terms of value and there aren't really any good reasons to get a Mac, in my opinion.

If it were all about value Apple wouldn't have sold many iMacs.

[matt_d_19]

I suggest that you at least look at PCs before you get a Mac. They're miles ahead in terms of value and there aren't really any good reasons to get a Mac, in my opinion.

If it were all about value Apple wouldn't have sold many iMacs.

Then what is it about? Being mainstream?

Value is a measure of everything in relation to price.

[GougMan]

Thanks all for the replies so far. Yeah agree that Apple in general is quite expensive and I have seen PCs with similar specs that are quite a bit cheaper.

I'm getting a bit tired of Windows and I have an iPhone as well so I much prefer the OS/usability of the Mac.

Also, is the sound quality similar through USB and other connections like coax or optical if running an external dac/amp ?

[Drubbing]

Thanks all for the replies so far. Yeah agree that Apple in general is quite expensive and I have seen PCs with similar specs that are quite a bit cheaper.

I'm getting a bit tired of Windows and I have an iPhone as well so I much prefer the OS/usability of the Mac.

Also, is the sound quality similar through USB and other connections like coax or optical if running an external dac/amp ?

I couldn't detect any difference at all between USB and optical. The only reason to use optical would be if you have no USB ports spare.

[Riverback]

Or if your DAC has a really crap USB circuit.

[matt_d_19]

Yeah agree that Apple in general is quite expensive and I have seen PCs with similar specs that are quite a bit cheaper.

Well, to a ridiculous extent.
For example, my lappy cost $1k and it has 2.2ghz i7, 750gb HDD, 8gb ram, 15.6" display, 2gb HD6770 graphics. $1k worth of Mac will get you 11", 1.6ghz i5, 2gb ram and a 64gb (!) HDD.
Macs are the Dr Dres of the computer world!

I'm getting a bit tired of Windows and I have an iPhone as well so I much prefer the OS/usability of the Mac.

Have you tried Windows 7? It's pretty good. Also, the OS of the Macs isn't a reason to pay double for something with an apple badge.
If you want a Mac, go ahead, but at least have a good look at PCs. I shall stop derailing this thread now.

Also, is the sound quality similar through USB and other connections like coax or optical if running an external dac/amp ?

There shouldn't be a difference. Using different inputs for better SQ is a very HF thing do do.

[Drubbing]

Yeah agree that Apple in general is quite expensive and I have seen PCs with similar specs that are quite a bit cheaper.

Well, to a ridiculous extent.
For example, my lappy cost $1k and it has 2.2ghz i7, 750gb HDD, 8gb ram, 15.6" display, 2gb HD6770 graphics. $1k worth of Mac will get you 11", 1.6ghz i5, 2gb ram and a 64gb (!) HDD.
Macs are the Dr Dres of the computer world!
)

You can't compare raw specs. Macs and their OS use their processors and RAM pretty efficiently, always have. Windows has always had programs that hog processing and RAM.

Macs do not cost double PCs. If they did, our primary school would never had been able to afford a swag of them.

[matt_d_19]

There's no way 2gb of ram in a Mac can be better/ as good as 8gb of ram in a PC. And you're forgetting things like graphics, size, hard drive, etc.

There are many cases where Macs with similar specs of a PC can cost double.

[luftkopf]

Macs are mainstream? Given that Apple only has 12% of the market (data is American), and Windows has much of the rest, I'd hardly call Apples mainstream. I switched to Mac because I just got thoroughly sick of Windows, having used all major versions from 2 through to 7. The thing is that windows are great for tinkerers, and engineers and similar mindsets. I find working in OS X to be much more stress free, and while they have their own set of drawbacks, they just work for me. I haven't had to tinker endlessly with them. It horrifies many PC types to find out I have no intention of upgrading my 3 year old Core 2 macs. They still work perfectly.

Anyhow, as to the OP, I use a 3.5mm to toslink adapter to connect my mac to the home theatre receiver. I personally prefer using optical, as I simply have too many USB devices already. I can't see any reason why you couldn't do the same to your DAC.

[GougMan]

There's no way 2gb of ram in a Mac can be better/ as good as 8gb of ram in a PC. And you're forgetting things like graphics, size, hard drive, etc.

There are many cases where Macs with similar specs of a PC can cost double.

Yeah that's actually not too far off because I've been looking around and some PCs (from places like PLE) can be considerably cheaper than an equivalent Mac. I like the "minimalist" approach of the Mac where there is no "box" or unnecessary cables. But saying that, I guess one drawback would be expanding or adding extra components/memory to a PC (which could quite easily be done as opposed to the Mac).

Macs are mainstream? Given that Apple only has 12% of the market (data is American), and Windows has much of the rest, I'd hardly call Apples mainstream. I switched to Mac because I just got thoroughly sick of Windows, having used all major versions from 2 through to 7. The thing is that windows are great for tinkerers, and engineers and similar mindsets. I find working in OS X to be much more stress free, and while they have their own set of drawbacks, they just work for me. I haven't had to tinker endlessly with them. It horrifies many PC types to find out I have no intention of upgrading my 3 year old Core 2 macs. They still work perfectly.

Anyhow, as to the OP, I use a 3.5mm to toslink adapter to connect my mac to the home theatre receiver. I personally prefer using optical, as I simply have too many USB devices already. I can't see any reason why you couldn't do the same to your DAC.

Haven't used Windows 7 but I do know quite a few people using Linux on their PCs and they seem to be pretty happy with that. I work in IT but now I'm getting to a stage where I don't really have a lot of time to tinker with things - I would just like things to work effectively and with minimal stress.
Also, the adapter you mentioned, is that just a female TOSLINK to male 3.5mm Optical adaptor ? And yes I also have a few USB devices already so that's why I was wondering about the optical output. Not sure if it's true, but I'm sure I read somewhere that sound quality through optical is generally better than USB - or maybe that was just the particular device they were testing.

[Antihippy]

For example, my lappy cost $1k and it has 2.2ghz i7, 750gb HDD, 8gb ram, 15.6" display, 2gb HD6770 graphics. $1k worth of Mac will get you 11", 1.6ghz i5, 2gb ram and a 64gb (!) HDD.

This is a really bad example. You can't compare a normal laptop to an ultrabook. Weight is a major advantage, and 64gb is 64gb of SSD storage, which while the price/storage ratio is alot worse than HDD the performance is so much better.

I'd agree that right now there's not alot of major advantages in OS performance between the 2. Windows 7 is pretty good, though before 7 the OSes were massive pieces of shit compared to OSX.

A iMac is worth it though, and I say this as a person who owned one before building my own computer. It has a pretty great design and really well built, and compared to other manufacturers of the all in one PC it has considerably less bloatware. Building your own computer is always best if you want to get the best value and control what you have in your computer, and it's not really that hard.