DAC for Squeezebox Touch

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DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby dante » Fri May 13, 2011 12:23 pm

Inspired by the setup of one of our offshore-based members, I recently bought a Squeezebox Touch that I hooked up to my Isabel preamp. It plays all digital media that I throw at it - FLAC, AAC, etc, and it even has internet radio! I am looking for a locally available or easily sourced (as in ebay or Amazon) DAC that can upgrade the Squeezebox's built in one to raise the sound quality of my my digital music. Any recommendations that won't break the bank will be appreciated.

Thank you!
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby muypogi » Fri May 13, 2011 2:22 pm

dante wrote:Inspired by the setup of one of our offshore-based members, I recently bought a Squeezebox Touch that I hooked up to my Isabel preamp. It plays all digital media that I throw at it - FLAC, AAC, etc, and it even has internet radio! I am looking for a locally available or easily sourced (as in ebay or Amazon) DAC that can upgrade the Squeezebox's built in one to raise the sound quality of my my digital music. Any recommendations that won't break the bank will be appreciated.

Thank you!


El cheapo alternatives available locally:

Super Pro DAC - 7k
Musical Fidelity VDAC - 13k
Maverick tube DAC/preamp - 15k

But since you have such nice equipment, why not just wait for the very nicely reviewed Rega DAC (mga 35k daw approx, coming in June).
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby dante » Fri May 13, 2011 2:40 pm

I've received PMs about where I bought the Squeezebox, so I'll just post the answer here. I got it in Singapore when I went there three weeks ago. Not sure if I got the last one on stock at Funan Center because there was only one shop there that had it and they had no other unit left after I bought mine. Paid the equivalent of about P15 or 16k for it. Amazon has it - http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-930-0000 ... B002LARRDA. Pretty cool gadget and easy to use.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby rtsyrtsy » Fri May 13, 2011 6:17 pm

Dante,

I found happiness with a Naim DAC.

I still remember how the Isabel pre sounds--makinis, as Hyperion describes it. I expect the nDAC's prat and resolution would complement it nicely.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby dante » Fri May 13, 2011 6:33 pm

Thanks for the heads up on the Naim Russ. I'm sure Epoy will be pleased with the endorsement. But isn't this DAC a break the bank type of gadget? :lol:
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby daj523 » Fri May 13, 2011 7:58 pm

dante wrote:I've received PMs about where I bought the Squeezebox, so I'll just post the answer here. I got it in Singapore when I went there three weeks ago. Not sure if I got the last one on stock at Funan Center because there was only one shop there that had it and they had no other unit left after I bought mine. Paid the equivalent of about P15 or 16k for it. Amazon has it - http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-930-0000 ... B002LARRDA. Pretty cool gadget and easy to use.


Thanks for the info.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby rtsyrtsy » Sat May 14, 2011 12:44 am

dante wrote:Thanks for the heads up on the Naim Russ. I'm sure Epoy will be pleased with the endorsement. But isn't this DAC a break the bank type of gadget? :lol:


Naim dac in my book is worth every penny. Of course, aa's pricing is hard to beat.

Often, I find that many compromises are false economy. You actually end up spending more due to sooner and more frequent upgrades.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby fld » Sat May 14, 2011 6:14 am

Dante, if you can wait we will have some shipment of Peachtree s audio new DAC -IT or peachtree I-dac.

Technical Specifications for Dac-IT

· 3 digital inputs USB, Coax, Optical
· Fixed line-level RCA stereo output
· ESS ES9022 Sabre DAC
· 24Bit/96kHz USB capability
· 24Bit/192kHz coaxial digital capability
· 24Bit/96kHz optical digital capability
· S/N 120dB
· Output voltage 2.0V
· Output impedance 200 ohms
· Transformer-coupled digital inputs for ground isolation
· Galvanically-isolated USB stage to reduce noise from computer's switching power supply
· External power supply 100V-240V 50Hz-60Hz 9V 1A output
· Power consumption <1W Dimensions 2.42" H x 6.5" W x 6.5" D Weight 2.33 lbs

Image

IF you need the i-pod docking station, the Peachtree i-dac is a very good choice.

thanks.

Ferdie

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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby wattanabe » Sat May 14, 2011 11:27 am

muypogi wrote: El cheapo alternatives available locally:

Super Pro DAC - 7k
Musical Fidelity VDAC - 13k
Maverick tube DAC/preamp - 15k

But since you have such nice equipment, why not just wait for the very nicely reviewed Rega DAC (mga 35k daw approx, coming in June).


the maverick tube magic d1 dac has very good reviews, value for money product, can be auditioned at e-home in annapolis st. near edsa, best price was 14,500 m not sure if they upgraded the tubes, might be a little cheaper if bought online

http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1
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Which DAC Depends

Postby Squirrelnutzipper » Sat May 14, 2011 11:29 am

Dante,

Glad that you moved up to a Squeezebox. I have really enjoyed my older version, SB3, with some enhancements. The enhancements, reclocker and external DAC, have significantly raised the sound quality for me.

You need to ask yourself a few questions and make a few decisions before selecting a DAC. The Touch can output 24 bit 96 KHz rates and nothing higher. So, using the spdif output would be the best way to hook up to a DAC. I would not use the Toslink output as it wil not give the highest quality. The next question is what have you ripped to your hard drive? Is it all regular CDs and not anything high resolution? If so, you certainly do not need a DAC capable of playing high sample rates. The next question os whether you want NOS or upsampling. I prefer NOS, non oversampling, thus far. There are plenty of DACs out there to choose from.

I do not know what your budget is but that is the first step. Do you want to buy used or new? Frankly, these inexpensive DACs for a few hundred dollars, sound like, well, a few hundred dollars. Tell us what your expectations and budget are and we can probably tell you better what might best suit your tastes. Welcome to the New World of computer digital music playback!
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby carbondated » Sat May 14, 2011 12:57 pm

Someone please get me this for my birthday!

http://www.dcsltd.co.uk/product/debussy-dac

...but failing that will also second the motion for the Naim DAC.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby philpath » Sat May 14, 2011 2:33 pm

Arcam R-dac. It even has a wireless usb option to hook up directly to your computer/laptop.
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby quizkidz » Mon May 23, 2011 1:53 pm

wattanabe wrote:
muypogi wrote: El cheapo alternatives available locally:

Super Pro DAC - 7k
Musical Fidelity VDAC - 13k
Maverick tube DAC/preamp - 15k

But since you have such nice equipment, why not just wait for the very nicely reviewed Rega DAC (mga 35k daw approx, coming in June).


the maverick tube magic d1 dac has very good reviews, value for money product, can be auditioned at e-home in annapolis st. near edsa, best price was 14,500 m not sure if they upgraded the tubes, might be a little cheaper if bought online

http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1



Dear Wattanabe,

saan po available yung musical fidelity?

Thank you po,,,,
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby Billabong » Mon May 23, 2011 3:18 pm

quizkidz wrote:
wattanabe wrote:
muypogi wrote: El cheapo alternatives available locally:

Super Pro DAC - 7k
Musical Fidelity VDAC - 13k
Maverick tube DAC/preamp - 15k

But since you have such nice equipment, why not just wait for the very nicely reviewed Rega DAC (mga 35k daw approx, coming in June).


the maverick tube magic d1 dac has very good reviews, value for money product, can be auditioned at e-home in annapolis st. near edsa, best price was 14,500 m not sure if they upgraded the tubes, might be a little cheaper if bought online

http://www.mav-audio.com/base/product/tube_magic_d1



Dear Wattanabe,

saan po available yung musical fidelity?

Thank you po,,,,


Designer's Collection Marketing
58 Designer's Collection Building, 16th Avenue, Cubao, Q.C.
Tel. # 912-3771 / 911-5103
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby quizkidz » Mon May 23, 2011 3:30 pm

Dear Wattanabe,

saan po available yung musical fidelity?

Thank you po,,,,[/quote]

Designer's Collection Marketing
58 Designer's Collection Building, 16th Avenue, Cubao, Q.C.
Tel. # 912-3771 / 911-5103[/quote]

Thank you very much!
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby timber715 » Mon May 30, 2011 2:06 am

Dante, can you give us feedback on the squeezebox? does it run with an external harddrive? Thanks
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby dante » Mon May 30, 2011 12:46 pm

timber715 wrote:Dante, can you give us feedback on the squeezebox? does it run with an external harddrive? Thanks


Hi Timber, I will try writing a review and post it online. I feed it music via my Macbook Pro. The Squeezebox can play music from any device that can connect with it via wifi. It can also be wired, if you want to connect an external drive to it, but I am not sure how that can be done. I will check my manual. ;)

Cheers!
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby JackD201 » Mon May 30, 2011 8:40 pm

Bro, my vote for best bang for the buck is the Bel Canto 1.5 available from fld. It also has a volume control for those lazy days or days when you're working on your photos while listening. :)
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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby desmo » Mon May 30, 2011 10:36 pm

Your recommendation Jack :).

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Re: DAC for Squeezebox Touch

Postby dimfer » Tue May 31, 2011 12:19 am

timber715 wrote:Dante, can you give us feedback on the squeezebox? does it run with an external harddrive? Thanks


there are external drives designed to work with SB & Transporter, one of them is Music Vault. Empirical Audio used to make one too, but not anymore maybe due to poor sales. These two are the ones I know that can operate directly with media players without requiring you to turn on your computer/laptop for your music files.
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