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Mac Mini vs. CDP?

So....finally got a new Mac Mini and got it all set up with some CD's ripped lossless to Itunes. The Mac is feeding a Rega DAC via USB. A Oppo 981 DVD player is also feeding the Rega via the RCA-coax (using Cardas).

Norah Jones "Come Away With Me" was used for this test.

I cued up the CD and Mac and switched between them. At first I thought it was identical, but with a few minutes I could hear that the MAC's presentation was decidedly dull and lifeless sounding. The CDP/Rega combo sounded more open and live. I tried a few more tracks and heard the same thing. So I called my buddy (he owns a big rig of ARC and Vandersteen stuff) and he echoed my findings using the W4S DAC 2.

So what's up here? I've heard people claim Mac via USB is a match for a CDP. It seems like it should be....Ideas?

Rob
robbob

Showing 2 responses by ultra_fi

ultra_fi
24 posts
 
Error correction when ripping is critical.

Computer cabling is as, if not more, important than analog cabling.

The orientation of your power cable on your mini matters.

There's a OS X software optimization guide on my website - it is free.

There's more to this but this should make a substantial difference. Basically everything matters, just like analog.

Larry D. Moore
Ultra Fi
http://www.ultrafi.biz
ultra_fi
24 posts
 
Rob,

A USB cable is a bigger improvement than the software tweaks you just made.

Also, an solid state hard I've is a bigger benefit than more memory.

Larry D. Moore
Ultra Fi
http://www.ultrafi.biz
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