+1 on swapping speakers first.  Even switching to a different amp/receiver than the BeoMaster 3000 would make a bigger difference than changing the DAC.  But if you're interested in a discussion of external DACs vs. the iMac (2009) DAC, see:

     www.head-fi.org/threads/imac-onboard-dac-vs-external.640264/

Thank you for the replies to my post. I will check out the link supplied.

however, moving away from DACs as a first priority, what would recommendations be for speaker upgrades or headphones?

Thanks in advance

Hi - I just posted about my experience of the equaliser in itunes - maybe give that a go as it can improve the sound. I use a Musical Fidelity DAC and it's quite good - couldn't tell any difference between that another one for the same price. I do agree with the others that the speakers will make a big difference.

Agree with the speakers - or an alternate route would be hi-fidelity headphones. I have the McIntosh MHP1000 which I preferred over the Audeze LCD-3, Sennheiser HD800 and Grado. But all of these are quite good, just depends on your personal preference. At a fraction of the cost of all of these, the Sennheiser HD600 is also a great choice.

A few years ago I did some controlled listening tests with a number of various DACs, some with fairly radically different technologies (16 bit 4x oversampled, 18 bit, 1 bit bitstream ones). I found that even before single or double blinding the test, once I level matched them it was impossible for me or the other test subjects to reliably tell any difference. A DAC's job is not that demanding, no matter how much different DAC companies talk about gilding the lily. Some low end DACs I believe do sound different, say the one in the Apple AIrport Express, and often ones in PC sound cards do, due to low quality analog circuits with noise and frequency response irregularities. Ones in PCs operate in a very harsh electromagnetic environment and often have poor analog output circuits.

It was quite an eye opening experience, as before the simple act of level matching they sounded quite different. One was a then popular, reasonably priced one which was a darling of the audiophile set who said it was better than most stand alone CD players. It also measured fairly hot in output, higher than most other DACs. Slight loudness differences are perceived by the human ear as quality differences, not loudness/level differences, and it seemed obvious to me this higher output level was deliberate on the designer's part. Not blaming him, if I wanted to sell people outboard DACs that's what I'd do.

Ariel wrote:

I am currently running my ripped cd collection from the imac (24" 2009) into the Beomaster 3000 and out to a pair of Beovox 1700 speakers.

Would an external Dac be an improvement, or should I look to a dedicated source for the music or alternative speakers first?

Ideas welcome....and thanks in advance!

 

 

Hi Ariel,

In my experience as a very happy owner of multiple sets of Beovox 1702 speakers I would recommend, as Andrew has already, that you experiment with the iTunes equaliser to try and create a profile which suits your hifi.

Imo there's a fabulous warm but detailed sound on tap in those speakers you own, the weakness is your iMac. (I also have an iMac and play music through iTunes. The in-built equaliser is a great way forward.)

Julian

Aha! many thanks guys.

5 mins with theiTunes equaliser has made a difference already.

Next step a pair of decent headphones......... :)

Hmm... Grado, AKG, Sennheiser.....? mainly for ECM & Classical