Congratulations on the new system! I had a very similar setup a few months back (Hegel H300, 2012 Mac Mini). The best results I experienced with that setup was running USB to the Mac Mini and a Firewire drive. Amarra was/ still is my preferred playback software. Audirvana is nice as well. There are a ton of tweaks available depending how crazy you want to get (i.e. booting from SD card, better USB, etc.). The USB DAC's downside is that it only does 24/96. It still sounded great with whatever was thrown at it. Taking the time to rip the CDs will yield a worthwhile improvement in my experience. In terms of DSD you will have to have the playback software convert to PCM at the DAC's sample rate. Feel free to PM me for specifics if you would like. Good luck!
Help me set up new stereo system
Just bought Revel Studio2 speakers and a Hegel h300 integrated amp (has DAC).
I have a pretty big iTunes library and have no CD's at all. Not sure of the format of the music files when I put my CD's into iTunes. I'd really like to get great sound out of my system and would like NOT to re-buy hundreds of CD's.
I'm OK with buying a Mac Mini but not sure how to hook up everything. I'll transfer over my library to the Mac Mini but then I'm a bit lost. Best to hook the Mini up to the Hegel via USB? And then use something like jRiver to manage the music? What about wanting to buy new music that may not be available on a high resolution site, do I buy the CD and just import it to the iTunes library?
Thanks for the help..
I have a pretty big iTunes library and have no CD's at all. Not sure of the format of the music files when I put my CD's into iTunes. I'd really like to get great sound out of my system and would like NOT to re-buy hundreds of CD's.
I'm OK with buying a Mac Mini but not sure how to hook up everything. I'll transfer over my library to the Mac Mini but then I'm a bit lost. Best to hook the Mini up to the Hegel via USB? And then use something like jRiver to manage the music? What about wanting to buy new music that may not be available on a high resolution site, do I buy the CD and just import it to the iTunes library?
Thanks for the help..