audio interface or no audio interface on a M1 Macbook Pro?

[TrancyGoose]

Hey folks.
Just seeking some advise here, before I go in to spending more money.
I got me some earphones, roughly 200 USD. And I have a feeling that 3.5mm jack on My M1 Macbook Pro, is not doing them justice.
Here is why.
I connected them to a 3.5mm jack in a USB-C hub on my wives iPad Air 4, and for some reason, they actually sound a lot better.
So, i am confused, if it is because it's an actual USB-C connection that feeds and powers the 3.5mm, as the hub is powered itself?
And most importantly, will an audio interface improve audio quality for listening on my M1 MB Pro? Or is the 3.5mm enough?
How is the quality on the 3.5mm port on M1, is there any people here who understand more than me?

There are some 40 bucks audio interfaces on Amazon, I just wanted to get more opinions before spending more.

Thanks all in advance.

 

[casperes1996]

Before we even go down this giant audiophile rabbit hole; What was the source of the music?
If you were comparing YouTube to Apple Music for example that's going to matter.

I wouldn't think $200 headphones would be very impacted by the DAC. They may be perfectly fine headphones, but you need to go quite a bit up in price range and source media quality before that really starts to be that noticeable. Plus, what's built into Macs is usually pretty good.
If you do listen to high quality media, go to the MIDI app on your Mac and turn up the sample rate of the DAC inside your Mac and make sure it's set to 24-bit integer or 32-bit float, not 16-bit integer.

The main advantage of external DACs over internal ones is that they can isolate the DAC from electro-magnetic interference you may find inside the computer, but components are fairly well shielded these days, and the actual DAC quality in Macs is pretty stellar.

If we're talking about the power needed to drive the headphones however - i.e. if you don't feel like you can turn the volume high enough, you may have very high impedance headphones in which case a headphone amplifier might be what you need. But don't connect one to low impedance headphones or you'll kill them

If you use Apple Music you can also turn on Lossless in the settings for higher quality source media

 

[thingstoponder]

A 40 dollar audio interface isn’t going to do anything. It might sound worse. Macs are known to have quote good internal DACs compared to most PCs. Maybe try an Apple USB-C 3.5mm adapter? Audio file people have said that it performs just as well as 100-200 dollar huge desktop DACs.

 

[casperes1996]

Audio file people have said that it performs just as well as 100-200 dollar huge desktop DACs.

That's with a big caveat. It performs that well only under the constraint that we do not compare with 192kHz/24-bit source media. If you compare 44.1/16 it's probably pretty close, sure.
But again, that's a meaningless distinction on $200 headphones most likely. I'd wager a guess that with a blind A/B test most people would score no better than random guessing. Invest $200 extra in speakers/headphones and get up to 90% better audio. Put $200 extra in a DAC and get 0.001% better audio. That 0.001% matters if you're already using such high end components in the rest of the signal chain that going any higher with that gear would cost more to squeeze out better quality than the DAC, but it really is one of the last things to worry about in the signal chain unless you're using the 3.5mm port on a $50 Chromebook or Netbook from 2009

That said, as I started out with, high end DACs like the Schiit product line do have their place and with high enough quality source file and a brilliant signal chain after audio leaves the DAC it *can* matter.

But a CD through a Mac with a SuperDrive on a pair of great speakers will outperform any Mac + DAC setup with mediocre speakers. Or even said setup with the same fantastic speakers, if the played audio file is a 256-bit AAC

 

[ranjan2001]

Hey folks.
Just seeking some advise here, before I go in to spending more money.
I got me some earphones, roughly 200 USD. And I have a feeling that 3.5mm jack on My M1 Macbook Pro, is not doing them justice.

Try Speakeramp, its free sound driver which boost the audio output, in its settings > enable system-wide audio & then test your earphones you will be happy with its output.

SpeakerAmp: System Wide Amplifier and 3D Equalizer of MacOS Audio

www.nimblesnail.com

 

[casperes1996]

Try Speakeramp, its free sound driver which boost the audio output, in its settings > enable system-wide audio & then test your earphones you will be happy with its output.

SpeakerAmp: System Wide Amplifier and 3D Equalizer of MacOS Audio

www.nimblesnail.com

I will caution against using tools like that for boosting beyond the regular output level. There’s a reason the maximum output volume out of the box is what it is. Go beyond that and you’re driving the preamp harder than its meant to be driven, which can cause audio distortion, imbalance, and in the most extreme cases even damage equipment. EQ’ing the headphone however may help

 

[theluggage]

I connected them to a 3.5mm jack in a USB-C hub on my wives iPad Air 4, and for some reason, they actually sound a lot better.

Well, that would mean you were hearing the DAC built into that USB-C hub, not the iPad. So the simple test would be to try connecting that USB-C hub to your Mac and see how that sounds.

Very hard to objectively compare two different sources, though - even a slight volume difference can change your perception.

 

[TrancyGoose]

Before we even go down this giant audiophile rabbit hole; What was the source of the music?
If you were comparing YouTube to Apple Music for example that's going to matter.

I wouldn't think $200 headphones would be very impacted by the DAC. They may be perfectly fine headphones, but you need to go quite a bit up in price range and source media quality before that really starts to be that noticeable. Plus, what's built into Macs is usually pretty good.
If you do listen to high quality media, go to the MIDI app on your Mac and turn up the sample rate of the DAC inside your Mac and make sure it's set to 24-bit integer or 32-bit float, not 16-bit integer.

The main advantage of external DACs over internal ones is that they can isolate the DAC from electro-magnetic interference you may find inside the computer, but components are fairly well shielded these days, and the actual DAC quality in Macs is pretty stellar.

If we're talking about the power needed to drive the headphones however - i.e. if you don't feel like you can turn the volume high enough, you may have very high impedance headphones in which case a headphone amplifier might be what you need. But don't connect one to low impedance headphones or you'll kill them

If you use Apple Music you can also turn on Lossless in the settings for higher quality source media

Thank you for responding.
The audio source would be youtube/YoutubeMusic, I do not use Apple Music, tried many times, just can't get used to it, being a Spotify user before, Apple Music is a bit too different on how it handles things.

Having read, i think it's not worth it, i have been playing around with these for a while now, and results depends on genre volume etc etc, I guess this is a question of perception.
As I am not recording audio myself, or use any instruments, I will get not much value from a DAC.

FYI, this is a pair that i am using, the Quad driver version:

1MORE Quad Driver In-Ear Earphones Hi-Res High Fidelity Headphones with Warm Bass, Spacious Reproduction, High Resolution, Mic and In-Line Remote for Smartphones/PC/Tablet - E1010 Space Gray Silver

.Cable Length : 1.25 m

www.amazon.co.uk

They dropped 35 EUR In price, which makes me kinda pissed now

But either way, they sound different than any other main stream earphone, and reviewerds online suggested that to get performance, get a audio interface, which is why I asked for an opinion here!

Thank you!

 

[Significant1]

Well, that would mean you were hearing the DAC built into that USB-C hub, not the iPad. So the simple test would be to try connecting that USB-C hub to your Mac and see how that sounds.

Very hard to objectively compare two different sources, though - even a slight volume difference can change your perception.

Actually usb-c supports analog audio, so may still use internal dac. Not sure if these modes are supported through a hub, which also supports other peripherals.

But I agree that a comparison should limit the number of variables and connecting the hub to the Mac and testing the same audio source on both devices would a good start.

 

[casperes1996]

Thank you for responding.
The audio source would be youtube/YoutubeMusic, I do not use Apple Music, tried many times, just can't get used to it, being a Spotify user before, Apple Music is a bit too different on how it handles things.

Having read, i think it's not worth it, i have been playing around with these for a while now, and results depends on genre volume etc etc, I guess this is a question of perception.
As I am not recording audio myself, or use any instruments, I will get not much value from a DAC.

FYI, this is a pair that i am using, the Quad driver version:

1MORE Quad Driver In-Ear Earphones Hi-Res High Fidelity Headphones with Warm Bass, Spacious Reproduction, High Resolution, Mic and In-Line Remote for Smartphones/PC/Tablet - E1010 Space Gray Silver

.Cable Length : 1.25 m

www.amazon.co.uk

They dropped 35 EUR In price, which makes me kinda pissed now

But either way, they sound different than any other main stream earphone, and reviewerds online suggested that to get performance, get a audio interface, which is why I asked for an opinion here!

Thank you!

OK. YouTube is generally not that high quality an audio source, though I don’t know if YouTube Music specifically does anything better than standard YouTube. Apple Music is the best since it now has lossless for most songs, but Spotify Premium can be a good source too as long as you remember to pick higher quality streaming in the settings.

If you bought them very recently you may be able to email Amazon saying “so should I return them and buy them again or will you just send me the price difference?” and get the €35 savings. But of course only if it’s a recent purchase. If it’s not very recent, just consider the €35 extra spent on the time you’ve already had them and be happy - I’ve heard positive things about 1More
People who say they perform better with their audio interfaces may very well be right, but there’s a million other factors to tweak with too. I think audio interfaces and DACs are among the last things you need to think about honestly. And I have two, haha

 

[theluggage]

Actually usb-c supports analog audio, so may still use internal dac.

Yes, there's an analog audio "alt mode" for USB-C. Not sure if Macs or iPads use it, though, and pretty sure it won't be used on a mutiport hub/dock. You should be able to tell by looking at the System Report on the Mac to see if an extra USB Audio Device shows up.

 

[TrancyGoose]

OK. YouTube is generally not that high quality an audio source, though I don’t know if YouTube Music specifically does anything better than standard YouTube. Apple Music is the best since it now has lossless for most songs, but Spotify Premium can be a good source too as long as you remember to pick higher quality streaming in the settings.

If you bought them very recently you may be able to email Amazon saying “so should I return them and buy them again or will you just send me the price difference?” and get the €35 savings. But of course only if it’s a recent purchase. If it’s not very recent, just consider the €35 extra spent on the time you’ve already had them and be happy - I’ve heard positive things about 1More
People who say they perform better with their audio interfaces may very well be right, but there’s a million other factors to tweak with too. I think audio interfaces and DACs are among the last things you need to think about honestly. And I have two, haha

Ok so! I tried apple Music, what a difference with sound quality, especially with the ability to use EQ, makes all the difference in the world. Source is important.

 

[casperes1996]

Ok so! I tried apple Music, what a difference with sound quality, especially with the ability to use EQ, makes all the difference in the world. Source is important.

Absolutely The saying in the digital signal processing world is “garbage in, garbage out”. Not that other sources are garbage necessarily the point is just that you can only do so much to work with an input source of less than ideal quality. The better the input the better output you can get