USB to Mac, and SPDIF to Uniti. The Topping displays the bit rate so I will be able to get an idea of what I am getting out of the computer.
Iāll just hold out for Spotify hifi or stick with Qobuz/roon. Or if Apple fixes issue with AirPlay. Like keeping my Uniti completely wireless.
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This is what I currently own for my iPhone (my iPad has a different plug/ the USB-C.) Will it be what i need for Apple Music to the Nova?
To connect your iPhone you need an Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter. To connect your iPad use an Apple USB-C to USB Adapter. You then need a USB to Coax/Opt converter such as the Nobsound Douk Audio U2 USB Converter:
So with this camera adapter Iād need a usb to usb to connect to the Douk, and then an optical cable to connect the Douk to the Nova?
The Douk should come with the appropriate USB cable. That would plug into the camera adapter. Then an optical cable is needed for the Nova.
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One thing that hasnāt been mentioned I think, is that the optical input on the Nova and Atom only go up to 24/96. To go higher, you need to use the coax inputs.
There is another version of this, slightly more expensive, that has an additional lightning socket which allows you to charge the phone while itās connected. You might want to consider that as if you use it for any length of time you might drain the battery in your phone.
There have also been suggestions made elsewhere that you get slightly better sound quality through the other one, but I canāt substantiate that.
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Yes, I have it set up like that. I think, that until Apple and/or Naim are able to update or integrate something, that is the simplest way of doing it. At least for a desktop audio set-up. Itās just a shame that MacOS doesnāt currently provide automatic rate switching.
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It a really lovely little unit tbh. I am not sure what I was expecting for the price but it looks and feels really well put together.
For everything no doubt. It will be upsampling none 192/24 to that. To have bit perfect you need to change the Macs settings for all the different source material sample rates as it doesnāt automatically do it. If you use iOS it will.
Topping make great value products even at the lower price points.
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Or use exclusive mode if the app supports it in MacOSā¦ that automatically switchesā¦ AppleMusic doesnāt currently support exclusive modeā¦ I canāt help thinking that would be the easiest way forward.
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It would but they never added it to iTunes I canāt see them adding it Apple Music either. But who knows?
Iām trying a similar thing tomorrow - in my case USB adaptor cable from iPad or iPhone to Audiophilleo SPDIF converter into my Nova.
(I hope this works as I think it will)
Howās AM sounding?
Iām keen to compare the lossless & high res in AM, with what I currently enjoy with Qobuz.
Iāll be adding a surround AV amp and speakers to my current 2ch set up (and trying to maximise both stereo and surround listening) later this year, and Iām keen to sample the surround mixes that are part of the AM catalogue.
I heard some Kraftwerk and other albums at a friendās house recently and the Apple Music Atmos surround mixes were stunning.
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Iām gonna torpedo what little audiophile cred I have and sayā¦I am not 100% I can tell the difference. And if I can, I have not done the sort of level-matching and blind testing to fully verify it.
Ha, like it. Iām sure the differences to my ears, if discernible, will be marginal.
Iām in the āmastering matters more than bit rateā camp, so look forward to a decent SQ whichever streaming service I end up opting for.
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I have tried the Spatial Audio demos with my headphones and whilst there is a difference, I would hesitate to suggest it is somehow ābetterā. If anything, the demo tracks just sound like they are over-processed to introduce audio tricks rather than to improve the listening experience.
I donāt use headphones, but my friend does and when I tried the spatial audio that way, I too thought it sounded āwrongā.
However, the same Apple Music Dolby Atmos material through his AV amp and into his 5.1 speaker set up sounded, in some cases, (I keep referring to 3-D by Kraftwerk, as the best example), fantastic.
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