Dac suggestions to pair with Squeezebox Touch

Spinaker01,

What improvements do you hear with the V dac versus the SB's internal DAC?

Anonymousauto,

Thanks for the great info and help!

The Bifrost is intriguing. Here's a recent review:

http://www.head-fi.org/products/schiit-audio-bifrost-dac

Shakey,

I agree that the SB DAC performs well beyond its price point, but I was hoping to find an external one that would enable my dad to upsample his Pandora and Internet radio feeds to 24/96 or higher.

Anonymoustao,

Thanks so much for the info! I had no idea the SB could already up sample a pandora stream to 24/96 via the analog outputs.

Crooner, Thanks for the Schiit recommendation.

I guess at this point I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's compared the SB's internal dac with other outboard DACs.

How high up in price does one have to go before one hears noticeable improvement? Perhaps an upgraded power supply would be a better direction (?)

It's probably worth weighing in here that an outboard DAC is only as good as the connection used. The right SPDIF cable can make a DAC you thought was "just OK" sound damned fine. The key is finding the right one. I usually pick the manufacturer's collective brain for a place to start. If they'll tell you what cable was used to voice the DAC, you can achieve some amazing synergy. This could be one reason the Squeezebox's internal DAC beats so many previously respected outboard DACs and why some disagree with others' comparisons.

Crooner,

A number of people around the net have reported that the DACMagic does not compete well with the SBT's internal DAC. If the Bifrost beats it, it's a steal at $349. I have not heard reports on the DACmagic Plus that was just released...but it retails for $600?