I am using my chromebook to stream music from an online source(rdio) I am quite pleased with the sound but since I,ve got a lot of time and money invested in getting my system to this point I want to be sure i,m getting the absolute most of it.
Would a dac improve the quality of sound?
Recommendations for what to use (if one should be used)
Thanks
Would a dac improve the quality of sound?
Recommendations for what to use (if one should be used)
Thanks
Yes and no. If you're happy, then why add another device to the audio chain? On the other hand, a DAC will act like an external, dedicated sound card, which is capable of much higher quality. If you're like me, you'll buy the DAC just based on the potential. I cannot recommend one though; most of what I know when it comes to DACs and such is pro equipment, not consumer or audiophile. Also, consider your source. If you're not using a high end source (CD, FLAC, WAV, etc.), the DAC will not be doing what it's meant to do. Hell, even the chromebook's on-board sound card has more potential than mp3, streaming, and HD radio quality.
Ya i've been doing some research. It seems what I would be looking for would be an external sound card type of setup. So far it seems they all require either windows or mac.
That's what I use primarily. I use my recording interface as my DAC, and as my pre to a point. I mean, I'd much rather have that new Antelope Audio piece that costs like 40 grand, but realistically speaking, I love my setup. But, I use Windows. My wife has a much smaller scale setup using pro monitors and such, and she also uses her interface as her DAC, and she uses Mac. I don't think there are going to be a lot of options for Linux distros. You should definitely investigate the Raspberry Pi though. I'm building one for a buddy of mine, and I'm adding a DAC board to it that'll do 24-bit/192k. I don't really know if it'll help your purposes, but the Pi only runs Linux distros, so it has to be a step in the right direction. Here's a link for the DAC board:
HiFiBerry DAC+ - high quality 192kHz/24bit audio output for the Raspberry Pi | HiFiBerry - High quality Raspberry Pi Audio
Maybe if you set something up like this you won't need your Chromebook anymore.
HiFiBerry DAC+ - high quality 192kHz/24bit audio output for the Raspberry Pi | HiFiBerry - High quality Raspberry Pi Audio
Maybe if you set something up like this you won't need your Chromebook anymore.
I would suggest one I use a Schiit Modi for my setup and i noticed a good improvement of sound quality. It is capable of playing 196/24 lossless files and its inexpensive also usb powered so its easy to move around.
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