24Bit music and iso files

[nlrela]

Would like to have some advice ;-)

I have a huge collection of 24BIT music (flac files) and ISO files of my archived BluRays and DVD's on my NAS.

As the Apple hardware is nowadays missing proper audio interfaces (only headphone connection) I am doubting whch device does fit best (the Apple TV doesn't fit due to the software limitations, eg. don't want to convert all the ISO files to a format which the Apple TV does play).

What would be the best option? Mac Mini, Mac Studio, MacBook ?

I wanna play the FLAC files (up to 192khz) and BluRay/DVD ISO files. Preferred audio interface would be XLR, but Apple doesn't offer that for sure ;-)

Thanks for the recommendations

 

[Marco Klobas]

I'm not a DVD expert: AFAIK Infuse plays ISO files on Apple TV. Some users have reported some limits in the past, though. Maybe it has improved in the meantime.

FLAC: in order to get an XLR audio output from your Mac a DAC or a streamer with balanced output is needed. The DAC should feature an USB input of course.

An audio streamer is usually network managed. It can contain a DAC on board (a streamer/DAC combo) or just act as a streamer only and provide a digital audio to feed a separate DAC.

There are many DACs and streamers available on the market. The playback software is crucial, especially from the user interaction point of view. I.e., which features the user needs, how is the audio "consumed" (in front a Mac, around the house, on the go...).

 

[bogdanw]

Preferred audio interface would be XLR, but Apple doesn't offer that for sure ;-)

Who does? Make a custom PC with a XLR sound card.

 

[kitKAC]

Preferred audio interface would be XLR, but Apple doesn't offer that for sure ;-)

I have an old Dragonfly Red that I can connect via a USB-A to C adapter and use to listen to Hi-Res Apple Music. It shouldn't be hard to find something with XLR outputs surely.