Running iTunes music from Mac laptop to 90's stereo receiver. Do I need a DAC?

[space-time]

I thought a DAC was supposed to improve the sound.

How good is your hearing? In other words how old are you? You may not be able to hear the difference.

[Dennis S]

space-time wrote:
I thought a DAC was supposed to improve the sound.

How good is your hearing? In other words how old are you? You may not be able to hear the difference.

66 with bad tinnitus, but I hear high frequencies OK. I don't like too much sizzle. I hung around some excellent famous and almost famous singers until about 2003 and heard them in good rooms without mics and up close. So, I have heard some fantastic acoustic and vocal music, although I never learned much about electronics and the science of acoustics, and never had them money to buy expensive equipment. So, I am always yearning to hear music like I heard in the past.

[Don C]

The cords Lost in Space recommended is what I use.

I use essentially those cables with my MBP when I run my folk dance group, plugging into an amplifier with runs Bose speakers in the hall.

At home, my old iMac plugs into a JVC amplifier which powers a couple of small bookshelf speakers.

Sounds fine for my 72 year old ears.

I had a hum issue with the MBP for a while. Discovered that the Magsafe power adapter was the problem. I swapped to a different adapter and the hum stopped. The humming adapter stays in my office to charge the MBP when I am not playing music; the non-humming adapter is in my carrying case for use when I AM playing music.

[NewtonMP2100]

....DAC......DAC......DAC......goose....???

[ka jowct]

I have a NuForce wifi DAC. There is a USB transmitter that sends music to a small unit hooked up to my receiver. It was originally hooked up to my mid-80s NAD integrated amp, now attached to a relatively recent Yamaha receiver. Worked/works fine with both.

[gabester]

I've got a Mac mini with the 3.5mm headphone jack to rca audio cable connecting them. Theoretically there's a way to get the optical quality sound but my '93 stereo doesn't have anything to input that sound to, it just has an aux and a phono rca female connectors.

[mrbigstuff]

Probably don't need a DAC, but buy from a place that has a good return policy, and try a few.