Apogee Mini-DAC firewire question

[dmd2157]

Hello,

I have BX-8a monitors, BX-10s sub, and an M-Audio Firewire Solo interface which I use to listen to CD's on a Vista computer. I am generally pleased with the sound quality, but would possibly like to upgrade the interface to Apogee Mini-DAC firewire. I have a couple of questions:

1. Will the Apogee replace my Firewire Solo completely? In other words, will the Apogee act as an external sound card?

2. Do you think the increase in sound quality will be substantial? The Apogee costs about the same amount as all three speakers and Mogami cabling combined...

I appreciate any advice. I am obviously new to computer audio :)

[dmd2157]

I was under the impression that Sweetwater sales reps monitored these forums and answered questions...Is that not the case?

[tech1]

We do, but sometimes questions get overlooked for one reason or another. i apologize for that. I think you're fighting a losing battle here, as Apogee drivers are not yet supported on Vista. That being said, the MIniDAC is only an output device. It will replace the FW Solo as a playback device for CD's, etc. If you plan to do any recording, then it will NOT be a replacement to the FW solo.

[Tarktones]

The Apogee would act as a sound card, but not as a recording interface.

My suggestion? Get either the Mini-DAC Firewire or (if you can get your hands on one) a plain old DAC. Hook the S/PDIF out of your Firewire solo to the S/PDIF input on the Apogee and now you're running out of better converters (although you'd be setting the M-Audio box as the master clock, which it certainly won't be best suited for).

[DAS]

I was under the impression that Sweetwater sales reps monitored these forums and answered questions...Is that not the case?

For all, if you have a specific question you'd like for us to answer there are much better ways to contact us than a question on a forum. Please don't hesistate to call or e-mail us directly. We are (we'd like to think) nice people who don't mind helping you. The forums are more of a free-for-all. We try to help as much as we can (and I think if you watch for a while you'll see that), but specific questions are better handled directly.

[dmd2157]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll just be patient and wait for Apogee to release Vista drivers (unless Benchmark makes a DAC-1 firewire first:)).

[Tarktones]

No, but Benchmark DOES make a USB version.