Advice - DAC or No DAC

[admin_exported]

Hi

Been trying to research this onlne - but cant seem to get an answer.

I have an old (but decent) Hifi - Arcam 7SE + Arcam 8r integrated Amp + Arcam 8p power amp with Bi wired Kef Q35 speakers.

Sounds nice - so no plans to change.

I tend to listen to digital music these days - Spotify Premium + itunes (especially Spotify)

I have also set up wireless streaming via Airport express. So a nice neat solutions. No cables.

So.

Will geting a DAC improve the sound quality drastically (objective is to get the best sound possible from streamed music) - some people say yes - some no. I would want to keep the wireless network so would connect to airport via tosclink. The RDac looks like a nice solution - but is it worth spending 300 quid - will the imporvements be drastic? If we are talking barely noticeable differences, I will bank the cash. Are there any cheaper options to consider?

cheers

 

[tino]

Instead of a DAC and since you have a premium Spotify subscription, then why not get yourself a Squeezebox Touch at around £200. There is a Spotify application for the Touch and it is wireless in operation so you should be able to connect to your Airport Express or other wireless router.

And the DAC in the Squeezebox is actually pretty good, so sound quality should be more than acceptable.

The DAC also opens up the possibiity of audio streaming from a PC or server at some point, so if you go down the CD ripping route you can even get rid of the CD player.