Hello
I want to connect my mini mac to a stereo amplifier, without going through the headphone port on the back of the mac. Can this be done with a thunderbolt into the mac and an optical into the amp or another way.
Cheers
I use an external USB-2 DAC connected to my stereo amplifier. Quality depends on the DAC but you don't need a very pricey one to get a clean sound. It also depends on the kind of audio files you have : mp-3 or hi res Aiff.
There are a wide variety of USB to "audio adapters".
The "audio adapters" could be simple a pair of RCA plugs
up to very sophisticated DACs with outputs to optical, coaxial, etc.
with a price range from the cheap to the absurd.
Just a quick Amazon search:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=usb+audio+dacs&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
So it depends on your system and size of your wallet.
Hello
Thanks for getting back to me, let say I want to play hi res mp3's and Aiff's, do you reccomend any?
I own a (second hand) TEAC UD 501 DAC (not commercialized anymore) with optical, USB and Cinch inputs as well as upsampling. I also use audio software like Jrivers Mediacenter. A Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 may be a good choice. It depends on your Hifi System.
Connect Mini Mac to Stereo Amplifier (Not using 3.5mm jack)
