Moving to a DAC

[nads]

To be honest nads the desire to upgrade to the Touch is more about the better display and the ability to show album covers. If it gives me an upgrade in sound before adding an external DAC, even better. It does make sense to sort out the NAS and Touch first, as you say.

When you say your NAS is a bit slow running SBS, how does it affect day to day usage? Is it slow to start streaming albums?

Thanks!

I like your thinking. the speed issue is more in the processing. you know the updates and rescans. Opperation is not really and diferent to running on the PC and using the remote.

next thing.

do you have an Android or an iPhone? Squeezebox do an app for them (free) but I highly recomend iPeng for the iPhone (and iPad) it also can have playback on the pad/phone which basically turns the iPhone into a better Duet controller.

 

[SonofSun]

Hi again,

I do believe that if you are satisfied with the SB3, then stick to it for the moment. Invest in a good DAC to get the optimum SQ from the SB3 (as long as your ripped music are all of hi res). I am not sure of the digital output limitation on the SB3, but nevertheless, a DAC like M1 or even DACMagic will upsample it to 192 kHz. You should be able to hear some difference.

Later on when more dough comes in either via Ladbrokes (joking!!!) or hard earned month end salary, then start investing on NAS.

I compared extensively the SQ duet DAC against the Dacmagic (A/B testing), and imo the Dacmagic was no better than the duet dac. The squeezebox dacs are good, and you will have to spend a bit to beat them. My advice would be live without an additional DAC from the start and then upgrade later (if you feel the need) .

 

[Andrew17321]

Right, OK. Still having an issue. I have just ripped a CD of Glenn Gould playing Bach. In iTunes all the tracks are showing under one album, but on Squeezebox Server it is showing two albums with the same title. The first track alone is in one of them, and the rest of the CD is in the other. There is no difference between the two album titles, artist information, date etc. and on my external hard drive the whole album is stored in one folder. This just doesn't make sense and is the sort of thing that might put me off Squeezebox if I can't find a solution...

I sometimes have this problem when ripping in iTunes. Invariably it has been because in iTunes some tracks have a tick in the 'Part of a compilation' box and others have not. Un-ticking the box in all the tracks fixes it. A nuisance certainly.

Actually I split the albums up into separate pieces so that each symphony, or whatever, appears as an album. That way the pieces are easier to find, and moreover, I listen to all the bits of music I didn't know I had.

Andrew

 

[matthewpiano]

To be honest nads the desire to upgrade to the Touch is more about the better display and the ability to show album covers. If it gives me an upgrade in sound before adding an external DAC, even better. It does make sense to sort out the NAS and Touch first, as you say.

When you say your NAS is a bit slow running SBS, how does it affect day to day usage? Is it slow to start streaming albums?

Thanks!

I like your thinking. the speed issue is more in the processing. you know the updates and rescans. Opperation is not really and diferent to running on the PC and using the remote.

next thing.

do you have an Android or an iPhone? Squeezebox do an app for them (free) but I highly recomend iPeng for the iPhone (and iPad) it also can have playback on the pad/phone which basically turns the iPhone into a better Duet controller.

nads - THANK YOU!! I've just downloaded the android app on to my HTC Legend and it is brilliant. No rush at all for a Touch now as my phone gives me all the artwork and CD and track information. That is a major step forward. Thanks very much for your help mate! 🙂

 

[nads]

happy to help. 😉

 

[matthewpiano]

Hmmmm... It seems to be a bit buggy still at present, but the concept is there and has lots of potential. Scouring the internet suggests that it doesn't always work as well as it should on HTC phones. Typical!

 

[nads]

Downloaded it and tryied it but iPeng is way better.

I noticed an interesting comment above re the Duet and a Dac Magic that they could not tell any difference. now IIRC the DACs in that are the same as the SB3 and I could tell a big difference. and the Touchs Dacs are ment to be a big step forward over the SB3/Duet and I rate the Touch to be as good as the Dac Magic on my set up.

How the SB3 compares with the Classic or is yours a 3? is it logitec or Slim? I do not know.

 

[matthewpiano]

Mine is a Classic, Logitech. Sounds very good through the in-built DAC - easily as good as my C521BEE.

I've found a native Android app that lots of people seem to be using called 'Squeeze Commander' and it works far more smoothly than Logitech's own app. I'll keep the Logitech app as I'm sure they'll improve it over time, but maybe there is no substitute for having something which is properly native to the OS.

Whatever, I really do think these Squeezebox devices offer incredible value for money given their functionality and the sound they produce. I've had mine for quite some time but I'm only really seriously exploring its abilities now and I'm impressed.

 

[nads]

I agree about what they can do. I hardly use all the bits. just rip and play. what I find interesting is that the Dac Magic I bought was an Exm demo that had been used to improve a Sonos set up. Mmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[Si Conaugt]

I suggest you ripping with XLD, which supports the latest CD Paranoia engine for bit perfect rips. 😉

Oh, and it also tags your albums and put artwork on them, using the freedb and musicbrainz databases on the 'net.

Thanks. I'll have a look, though I think I have now settled on EAC, ripping FLAC. Everything is working really well this way. Much better than using iTunes.

I would also take a look at dBpoweramp for FLAC ripping. You do have to pay for it at around £20 - 25 but it will collect the metadata automatically when you rip your CDs and will also preserve the gaps between tracks as they are on the original CD. There is an option to trial it for free for 21 days.

I have found SqueezeControl to be a particularly good Squeezebox remote program for Android phones. It was the best ap for me at building up a play list quickly and easily. Logitech's own remote ap for Android is good for browsing Napster if you have this.

Personally, I found a USB hard drive attached to my Squeezebox to be the best soloution for storage. A 1TB drive can be had for under £50 now, and means that I don't have to leave a NAS box running all the time or worry about network streaming issues like drop out or data flow restrictions. I normally rip my CDs to my PC first of all before copying the files to the USB drive over my network or by attaching the USB drive to my PC. This means that I have a back up of my music should anything happen to the usb drive and vice versa.

Finally, I have an Arcam Rdac attached to my Squeezebox Touch and I would say that this is a definate improvement on the sound from the Touch alone though the Touch was perfectly acceptable without this. Its a nice finishing touch rather than an absolute essential in my view. I would be intersted in trying out the Rega and M1 dacs for comparison.

I think the Touch is an excellent device and really appreciate the big display. It means you can easily use the device without resorting to your mobile phone all of the time. I really get sick of charging those things! Hope that's of some use.

 

[CustomCable]

If it were me I would hold off making any decisions for an ickle while.teac are just about to release their dac to the market called the ud-h01,i think this paired with a sonos zp90 with fixed level output and the ios/android app could be the answer.the ui on the clic is good as can be seen by the youtube videos, however it doesn't quite compare to that offered by the sonos apps.esp if you have a massive music collection.you may also want know that leema acoustics are soon to release their dac soon too and if they're cd players are anything to go by it will be special.

 

[spockfish]

Using a Synology NAS for Squeezebox Server solves your backup issues; worries about leaving it on.... the Synology does support wake up on lan, and it does have a power schedule. So my NAS is powered off and on automatically every day. And I can assure you that a good NAS doesn't have any issues with providing a decent stream to your Squeezebox if you have a 100 MB lan connection. You can do the math if you like.

Regards

 

[Anonymous]

sorry to go off topic , but are these dacs reliable as i seem to be having trouble with my rdac, sound keeps cutting out . my first one was returned for the same problem cheers

 

[Ajani]

sorry to go off topic , but are these dacs reliable as i seem to be having trouble with my rdac, sound keeps cutting out . my first one was returned for the same problem cheers

I've never had an issue with my Benchmark in the approx. 4 years I've owned it... and Even my XDA-1 has had no issues other than a poor volume control implementation (a mistake by the Emo design team, that was corrected on later models and would be on my mine if I was willing to ship it back to them)...

 

[Anonymous]

I run a squeezebox touch and an SB3 as well, and have tried a couple of DACs. The first was a PeachTree Nova, which is an amp with an integrated DAC, but i ended up using it as a standalone DAC. The imaging was fantastic, perfect if you listen to acoustic, jazz, or anything where you want focussed vocals, especially female. The bass extension was minimal though, not a lot of difference to the analogue outs on the squeezebox.

Next was a Xindak DAC-8. Not much argument - at least in my setup, it killed the Peachtree. Bass was fuller, punchier and yet more controlled, vocals opened up, and detail made me stop regretting buying music in a downloadable format. In my setup it doesn't match the imaging of the peachtree, but I can live with that.

I can't say it's a surpising result - the Xindak was getting close to same price as the PeachTree, and feature for feature they're about the same (2 digital inputs, 2 analog on the Peachtree) but the Peachtree has an amp built in.

 

[matthewpiano]

Just done some direct comparisons between the Squeezebox and the NAD CD player. The winner was.....

The NAD C521BEE. And by quite some margin actually.

Suggests that the DAC in the Squeezebox is OK but could be improved by judicious addition of a DAC.

 

[Anonymous]

Just done some direct comparisons between the Squeezebox and the NAD CD player. The winner was.....

The NAD C521BEE. And by quite some margin actually.

Suggests that the DAC in the Squeezebox is OK but could be improved by judicious addition of a DAC.

Hi Matthew, it doesn't surprise me.

I read some recent posts on this forum comparing the Squeeze box with the Cambridge Audio DAC magic, and the jist was that the Squeezebox was on the same level. I really don't think this is the case, I have owned both and with the right files and system the DAC magic is simply a superb performer and in my opinion, out of the squeezeboxes league.

Just my tuppence

 

[nads]

Just done some direct comparisons between the Squeezebox and the NAD CD player. The winner was.....

The NAD C521BEE. And by quite some margin actually.

Suggests that the DAC in the Squeezebox is OK but could be improved by judicious addition of a DAC.

Hi Matthew, it doesn't surprise me. I read some recent posts on this forum comparing the Squeeze box with the Cambridge Audio DAC magic, and the jist was that the Squeezebox was on the same level. I really don't think this is the case, I have owned both and with the right files and system the DAC magic is simply a superb performer and in my opinion, out of the squeezeboxes league. Just my tuppence

again not suprised as it is the exact result I would have expected. The SB3 dacs are not as good as the DAC magic BUT the SB Touch is in the same league. Running my Nad C542 through the Dac Magic or not had them both sounding the same as well or at least very very close.

 

[Anonymous]

I actually use a two box DAC solution based on pro-audio gear by Behringer:

1. The first box is an UltraMatch, that re-times and upsamples from a optical input.

2. The digital output of this goes into an UltraCurve.

The sound quality and flexibility of this rig would blow most hi-fi buff's minds, as would the entirely reasonable prices - look them up and prepare to be shocked. The smoothness and fluidity of the sound is something to wonder at, never heard any CD player get close TBH.

The top-flight DAC chip is then intercepted before the opamps (a Lampizator mod), and fed straight into my tube SE amplifier. You don't really need the ultracurve TBH, but I like it - and a 64 channel DSP room equaliser is always nice to have if required.