Apple Computers (onboard) as a source - experiences & discussion

Equipment / Electronics / Gear / Accessories Source Gear / Other
1

Apple has been historically a good proponent of quality sound components. With the 2020 M1 Macbooks, it seems like this mindset has been retained.

In this thread, feel free to discuss the different ways to use a Mac as a source and also post your experiences using them as a source through dedicated headphone jacks. With some low-impendance HP’s, the DAC on the system gives out good results and makes the sound feel lively. It’s not killing a discrete DAC any time soon, but for on-the-go it’s good.

My M1 Macbook Air is my new favorite toy, so I curiously have begun testing different headphones and how they get juice from the jack. Here are some initial results:

-Sony MDR-7506. 63ohms. These are extremely easy to drive. They get loud at 4-5 notches of volume bar. Very good sounding, if flat, signature. Good pair.
-Beyerdynamic 770 80ohm. These on the other hand struggle with the on-board jack. Cranking up the volume is required. Feels like there’s still some ground to cover, as at full volume, the cans barely feel like they’ve opened up.

2

I would avoid using IEMs on these. The audio chip goes into power saving immediately after sound stops, producing a popping sound. It gets annoying quickly.

I usually prefer to plug in the Zen DAC if I’m using full-size headphones, although I did use the Grado Hemp directly from the headphone output recently and didn’t notice any major issues.

3

Yeah, plugging it to a DAC/AMP is the preferred solution. However on the move, I’ve noticed Apple being significantly better in driving less intensive cans.

4

I have the last ipad pro with a jack and I swear all my headphones sound the same there than on well measuring amp/dac combos, my xiaomi phone does sound weirdly muddy in comparison.