Didn't think the analog 3.5mm headphone port on the Macbook pro has this much potential in sound.
As some of you know I had tried an external DAC (D1 DAC) in the past, to connect to MBP via USB connection and I didn't like the result. It was a clear downgrade in sound for me.
Well, I found the path to the right upgrade now.
I bought an AudioQuest Bridges & Falls - Sydney 3.5mm-to-3.5mm male cable to connect from MBP's headphone port to the Audioengine A2 speakers.
The cable is directional. See arrow pointing from output of source to the input of the speaker.
The sound is astounding, almost undescribable.
Let's just say, it's the best desktop audio system I have ever heard up to date. You don't have to have external DAC.
AudioQuest Sydney + Audioengine A2 speakers = The Bomb
Here is my interview with news reporter:
Question: How was the sound before the cable upgrade?
Answer: Grrrrreattttt! At least I thought it was great. Thanks goes to A2 speakers and professional onboard MBP sound chip.
Question: Well then what's the sound like after the cable upgrade?
Answer: The musical instruments are more transparent. First, there definitely is reduction in noise and harshness. If too much noise is reduced you would figure it would sound fat and a little soft or muddy right? Nope. The treble shines even higher. One of the biggest differences was the other instruments of sound were popping out of nowhere that I could barely hear or not hear them at all before the upgrade. They are almost like coming behind my speakers, increasing depth / space. There is more detail across the entire band and the dynamic range has increased. As mentioned earlier the harshness is decreased, like the distortion in the highs. I had a few songs with vocals and at the very top end the slight bit of distortion was inhibited before the upgrade. But after the upgrade it's virtually non-existent. I was very pleased for the result. The distortion was one of the biggest things I worried about.
Question: Based on your experience, how does this compare to the external D1 DAC you had, via USB?
Answer: I am seeing HUGE increase in overall sound quality compared to the external DAC route I had tried in the past. The sound from D1 DAC via USB gave me fat, absorbent sound and had no improvement in transparency and detail. The one straight from the MBP's headphone port provided better sound.
Interesting to note that on *some* of the compressed MP3's I was able to hear more faults in sound. Since it does good at bringing details it's detecting more sound artifacts from the poorly encoded MP3's. This is only a few of the songs I have though. I only have about 120 songs and majority of them are lossless straight from CDs, the rest are 320kbps MP3's. I only kept my most favorite songs so I listen to them almost everyday over and over so I know exactly how they sound. It was easy for me to hear the differences in sound since the upgrade.
I am amazed at the potential these A2 speakers have, and how much impact it can have on the cables you use to connect. I didn't think I was going to get this much of gain in performance, more like shocking.
I've got this cable a few days ago. Does analog audio cable need a burn-in?
And I believe some of the readers will find this info useful as there are a lot of people out there skimp on cables. If there are other audio gurus with their high-performance cables to share with, post away your experiences.
This shenanigan has gone on long enough. It's time to let it rest.
-ViRGE
As some of you know I had tried an external DAC (D1 DAC) in the past, to connect to MBP via USB connection and I didn't like the result. It was a clear downgrade in sound for me.
Well, I found the path to the right upgrade now.
I bought an AudioQuest Bridges & Falls - Sydney 3.5mm-to-3.5mm male cable to connect from MBP's headphone port to the Audioengine A2 speakers.
The cable is directional. See arrow pointing from output of source to the input of the speaker.
The sound is astounding, almost undescribable.
Let's just say, it's the best desktop audio system I have ever heard up to date. You don't have to have external DAC.
AudioQuest Sydney + Audioengine A2 speakers = The Bomb
Here is my interview with news reporter:
Question: How was the sound before the cable upgrade?
Answer: Grrrrreattttt! At least I thought it was great. Thanks goes to A2 speakers and professional onboard MBP sound chip.
Question: Well then what's the sound like after the cable upgrade?
Answer: The musical instruments are more transparent. First, there definitely is reduction in noise and harshness. If too much noise is reduced you would figure it would sound fat and a little soft or muddy right? Nope. The treble shines even higher. One of the biggest differences was the other instruments of sound were popping out of nowhere that I could barely hear or not hear them at all before the upgrade. They are almost like coming behind my speakers, increasing depth / space. There is more detail across the entire band and the dynamic range has increased. As mentioned earlier the harshness is decreased, like the distortion in the highs. I had a few songs with vocals and at the very top end the slight bit of distortion was inhibited before the upgrade. But after the upgrade it's virtually non-existent. I was very pleased for the result. The distortion was one of the biggest things I worried about.
Question: Based on your experience, how does this compare to the external D1 DAC you had, via USB?
Answer: I am seeing HUGE increase in overall sound quality compared to the external DAC route I had tried in the past. The sound from D1 DAC via USB gave me fat, absorbent sound and had no improvement in transparency and detail. The one straight from the MBP's headphone port provided better sound.
Interesting to note that on *some* of the compressed MP3's I was able to hear more faults in sound. Since it does good at bringing details it's detecting more sound artifacts from the poorly encoded MP3's. This is only a few of the songs I have though. I only have about 120 songs and majority of them are lossless straight from CDs, the rest are 320kbps MP3's. I only kept my most favorite songs so I listen to them almost everyday over and over so I know exactly how they sound. It was easy for me to hear the differences in sound since the upgrade.
I am amazed at the potential these A2 speakers have, and how much impact it can have on the cables you use to connect. I didn't think I was going to get this much of gain in performance, more like shocking.
I've got this cable a few days ago. Does analog audio cable need a burn-in?
And I believe some of the readers will find this info useful as there are a lot of people out there skimp on cables. If there are other audio gurus with their high-performance cables to share with, post away your experiences.
This shenanigan has gone on long enough. It's time to let it rest.
-ViRGE
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