Should I add a DAC (mainly DacMagic) to SBTouch?

[mattjax05]

Question in the title - RS6 speakers in the setup.

 

[nads]

Not a DacMagic a it makes no difference and may even not be as good.

Cant comment on any others as I have not seen the need for the money needed to gt better than the DACs in the SBT.

 

[mattjax05]

Gutted I have a DacMagic on order to add to the SBT!

 

[quadpatch]

Wasn't there a thread on this? I seem to remember a few people saying there wasn't much benefit. Is the SBT DAC really that good or is the DM that boring? Could it also be that most people were using it for movies through an amp and speakers that are really not that resolving?

I haven't tried the DM but I own a similarly spec'd/priced unit as the DM+ (D100II) and I get a huge increase in audio quality to headphones compared to any standard PC output. I recently tried the Audiolab M-DAC and noticed another significant upgrade albeit for double the price. I'm upgrading to that as soon as I can.

I wouldn't panic yet Matt, try to keep an open mind, give it a good test and please let us know what you think.

 

[mattjax05]

Thanks I will be testing and wil post my opinion. Anyone else have this combo?

 

[Cypher]

Try the Musical Fidelity V-dac II. Awesome sound !

You could also try the new Dacmagic 100........it should be good.

 

[Anonymous]

The Squeezebox Touch sounds extremely good- better than it has any real right to- but it can be improved by an external DAC, especially if you are listening to high resolution material. The DacMagic Plus should offer a real step forward with lossless and high resolution material- the trick ATF2 upsampling is a great deal more sophisticated than the internal arrangements of the Squeezebox Touch and I'd be suprised all things being equal if you couldn't hear a reasonable step forward with it in place. You also gain a good headphone amp and a 192kHz capable USB input.

The DacMagic 100 isn't quite so sophisitcated- it makes use of the internal arrangements of the Wolfson WM8742 rather than a seperate upsampling circuit but it is still a pretty clever bit of kit and could be worth trying. The DacMagic Plus ought to be a clear step forward though.

Ed

 

[nads]

Could it also be that most people were using it for movies through an amp and speakers that are really not that resolving?

Nope I have a seperate system for movies. And I used to have a DacMagic.

Yes there was/is a thread on it an there s also a thread showing people's SBT set ups.

 

[quadpatch]

Nope I have a seperate system for movies. And I used to have a DacMagic.

So which would you say? DM = Not so great value for money or SBT = Brilliant value?

 

[nads]

Nope I have a seperate system for movies. And I used to have a DacMagic.

So which would you say? DM = Not so great value for money or SBT = Brilliant value?

Good question.

Neither. It was great with the SB Classic but just not needed with the SBT.

 

[Peter Larsen]

I use Rega Dac with my Touch and it sounds fantastic!

 

[Jumping Jack]

I'm quite active on a Duth hifi-forum, and over there the Metrum dacs (Quad and Octave) are quite a buzz.... I haven't heard them myself, but maybe it's worth a try...

I use a North Star Essensio Dac with my Squeezebox touch, sounds great to me...