Squeezebox Touch w/ DacMagic vs. Rega Apollo R?

[admin_exported]

I'm currently running a Squeezebox Touch w/ DacMagic. However, I've found the sound to be somewhat sharp and glaring, especially after listening for awhile. I generally prefer vinyl, but I've got a 1,000+ CDs purchased before I got a turntable. I recently purchased a Jolida 100A CD player and absolutely loved the sound. However, the player stopped reading CDs after only a couple of days. I returned it, got a new one, which started skipping on clean CDs after about 1 hr. of play. Frustrating.

I'm now looking at the Apollo R. If anyone has compared it to a Squeezebox Touch w/ DacMagic, I'd be interested to know if it would be a significant upgrade. Everything I've read seems to indicate a smoother and less fatiguing sound than the DacMagic w/ one reviewer saying it held it's own against a comparably priced Rega turntable. Alternatively, would anyone recommend simply buying the Rega DAC and using it with the Squeezebox? I have a feeling I would get much more accurate reading of the discs from the Apollo R mechanism than the Squeezebox streaming my ripped WAV files. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot.

 

[The_Lhc]

I have a feeling I would get much more accurate reading of the discs from the Apollo R mechanism than the Squeezebox streaming my ripped WAV files.

Really? Why? There's no good reason why that should be the case. Just out of idle curiosity have you tried the Touch without the DACMagic? The DAC in the Touch is supposed to be very good.

 

[Anonymous]

The DACMagic enhanced the sound of the the Touch quite a bit.

 

[nads]

which DAC magic? the original? the recent or the current one what is it the Plus?

I would just lose the DacMagic. Opps that is what I did. (the recent one).

 

[stevebrock]

i use a Rega DAC with a SBT and the Rega is a step up from the SBT

i actually think the Rega DAC makes my CDs sound analouge but this could be down to the Brio R & RS1s

 

[Ambrose]

i use a Rega DAC with a SBT and the Rega is a step up from the SBT

I second this. I found that sound of Dac magic 1 a bit tiring to listen to, albeit a slight improvement to stock dac in SBT in detail levels.

I found the rega dac presentation much nicer to listen to, great detail, not light weight and better stereo imaging amoungst other things.

I did however, find adding a Linear PSU reduced the harsh background noise in my setup and made for more relaxed listening. This furthermore by adding Wireworld Matrix and Stratus. I really don't like bright / fatiguing setups!!!

Worth trying the Sbooster from Mark Grant http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=76_77&zenid=vebrvsk6npvckbgkbbdurphb17

£27.50 and free 30 day returns policy. Hi Fi Choice recently recommended. You could add full Linear PSU as I did if you find this worthwhile. Mileage may vary from setup / home mains quality to another, just my personal findings.

As a comparison I haven't heard rega apollo, but I would expect more changes in the presentation.

I'm sure the Rega Dac would be better than Apollo R and if you are sticking with streaming maybe a better option.

Hope this helps a little as it took me quite a while before I was really happy with my SBT setup but it is truly remarkable what results can be achieved.

Ambrose

 

[plastic penguin]

I'm currently running a Squeezebox Touch w/ DacMagic. However, I've found the sound to be somewhat sharp and glaring, especially after listening for awhile. I generally prefer vinyl, but I've got a 1,000+ CDs purchased before I got a turntable. I recently purchased a Jolida 100A CD player and absolutely loved the sound. However, the player stopped reading CDs after only a couple of days. I returned it, got a new one, which started skipping on clean CDs after about 1 hr. of play. Frustrating.

I'm now looking at the Apollo R. If anyone has compared it to a Squeezebox Touch w/ DacMagic, I'd be interested to know if it would be a significant upgrade. Everything I've read seems to indicate a smoother and less fatiguing sound than the DacMagic w/ one reviewer saying it held it's own against a comparably priced Rega turntable. Alternatively, would anyone recommend simply buying the Rega DAC and using it with the Squeezebox? I have a feeling I would get much more accurate reading of the discs from the Apollo R mechanism than the Squeezebox streaming my ripped WAV files. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks a lot.

Change the DacMagic. I had one and found the sound too clinical for my ears when played thru the Arcam CDP. Likewise the Rega Apollo (not the R) was a very good CDP, although the uplift in SQ over the Arcam wasn't spectacular.

Personally I'd look at Arcam's rDac. That should tick all your boxes.