Logitech Squeezebox Touch with an Arcam rDac v Arcam CD92T

[smbmetal]

I'm thinking about replacing my cd player with the above combo. Does anyone know if this combo would be around the same quality in musical terms, or am I better off sticking with my trusty Arcam CD92 cd player? I’m planning to connect a hard drive (with lossless music) to the Squeezebox Touch, connect that to the Arcam rDac then into my Rotel RC-03 pre-amp. I’m not interested in streaming music from computers etc.

 

[John Duncan]

I'd bet it'll be better...

 

[neil fd2]

Just bought a squeezebox touch a few weeks back along with a western digital 1tb hard drive. Like yourself i have no interest in streaming music. I was bought primarily because i am fed up looking for cd`s that have somehow managed to find their way into Ann`s car. I use the dac input in my cairn fog3 cd player & am more than impressed. It gives away very little to the original cd played on the fog3. I don`t think you`ll be disappointed for the outlay.

 

[Fisherking 145]

I'd try the Touch on it's own first before adding a DAC, see how you get on with that. If that doesn't do it for you, you can then home demo several DAC's and see which one you prefer up against your disc spinner. Not much point in spending upwards of £300 if you don't need to.

 

[Crocodile]

I'd agree with Fisherking for two reasons:

The DAC in the Touch is pretty good.

USB playback on the Touch can be a bit flaky.

 

[smbmetal]

Thanks everyone for your helpful replies. I think I'll look at trying the touch on it's own first, before adding a DAC. I must admit I'm surprised that most people think it would be of better quality than my CD player.

I think at one time Logitech had an offer on that you order one and return it if you didn't like it.

 

[nads]

I used a Dac Magic with my old SB3 but dont with the New Touch.

 

[Crocodile]

smbmetal:I think at one time Logitech had an offer on that you order one and return it if you didn't like it.The scheme is finished now but I found it useless anyway. Ended up selling my Touch at a loss because I couldn't get any meaningful response from Logitech or the German company they assigned to run the scheme when I wanted to return it.

As long as you take care with the unit, maybe leave plastics in place & use your own batteries in the remote, then DSR should cover you for 7 days. Probably worth paying a little extra in that case to a retailer with a decent rep rather than chasing the lowest possible price.

 

[Fisherking 145]

Not sure whether it would be better quality, but I'm sure it would be worth a try. I'm not familiar with your CD player, but I'm hard pushed to tell difference between the Touch and my CD player in my system. I'm thoroughly pleased with the sound from it, and the convenience is brilliant. I'm often up 'til three in the morning listening to tunes I've not heard for years. I still listen to CD's though.

I bought mine from Richer Sounds, if you have one near they might be able to sell you one with a return option.

 

[SonofSun]

I have a squeezebox duet, and the internal dac is at least as good as a dacmagic (IMO). If you want to improve the dac you will have to spend a fair bit, possibly £500 on a Rega dac.

 

[Anonymous]

just wondering if the SBT worked out - I was going to invest n an RDAC to up the quality of music streamed via spotify onto my old (but good) arcam Hifi.

Another forum member recommended getting a squeezebox instead of the Rdac. What do you think - was it a good investment?

 

[acalex]

I'd try the Touch on it's own first before adding a DAC, see how you get on with that. If that doesn't do it for you, you can then home demo several DAC's and see which one you prefer up against your disc spinner. Not much point in spending upwards of £300 if you don't need to.

Agree for two main reasons

- Apparently the DAC in the SB is quite good (still there are some imporvements at software level that can be done to further improve the sound quality of the SB itself)

- This best input in the rDAC is the USB...and unfortunately you can't connect the SB to the rDAC through USB (again, you can but need to play with the SB firmware, can't out of the box)

I am also buying a SB (already own a rDAC) and will compare the two systems and also the SB through the rDAC...

 

[acalex]

just wondering if the SBT worked out - I was going to invest n an RDAC to up the quality of music streamed via spotify onto my old (but good) arcam Hifi.

Another forum member recommended getting a squeezebox instead of the Rdac. What do you think - was it a good investment?

Two different things...the SB is a streamer so it will stream all the music you have on your pc/laptop/NAS...it also has an internal DAC. The rDAC is a standalone DAC, it won't stream anything. So it depends on your needs...if you need a streamer than is the SB you are looking for