DAC Recommendation for New Stereo Setup

[dabassgoesboomboom]

@Andrew_Webb

the server Mac Pro or the endpoint Mac Mini?

Sorry I meant your USB audio source, which means replacing your current Mac Mini endpoint.

@Andrew_Webb

Why?

If you can move your Mac Pro Roon Core outside of the listening room and just have the lower powered endpoint (like the USBridge), then you would be following Roon’s recommendations (not mine)

I’ve tried different configs, like yours but in the end, Roon’s recommended setup results in the best SQ. Have the Core outside of the listening room if it’s practical to do so - sometimes it hasn’t been practical for me as I move/travel around a bit but you try your best. And then have just a low powered & low noise output like a USBridge (or others) connected to your HiFi gear (your DAC).

Don’t take my word for it though. See below links.

Roon Client/Server - Best Practice?

You really want Roon on the PC, and the DAC somewhere else. I know the “Computer Audiophiles” may not like that idea, but the computer is a pretty electrically noisy place. In an ideal situation, you’d want your DAC to be networked and far away, but if you can’t do that, you’d want a bridge of some sort. PS Audio makes one (that will run RoonSpeakers soon!), and you can also make one with RaspberryPi or maybe even an older Android phone. If it were me, I’d build kickass Roon library managing PC…

and

Roon Client/Server - Best Practice?

is having the media server away from the listening room really necessary, if we are using completely silent builds tailor-made to be in the listening room (such as the CAPS machines mentioned)? Electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference are the kind of “noise” I’m talking about, not the audible kind. We worked with Meridian for many years on these issues when building out the Sooloos product line, since the original Sooloos devices were fanless PCs in pretty boxes. They were fairly wel…

and

Computer Noise - Affect on Audio Quality

It could be there? How would I test for noise? Subjectively: ABX test between Computer->DAC and Computer->Network->Bridge->DAC. Objectively: Plug Computer->DAC and Computer->Network->Bridge->DAC into a scope with plenty of dynamic range, play the usual test signals, and analyze/understand the differences. The first one tells you if the difference matters to you personally. If you iterate the test over a population, you can determine whether it makes a difference to anyone. The second one t…