Is the Transporter

Based on my own experience and past research I think the transporter has certain features that allow it to potentialy offer better SQ then the less fancy alternatives previously mentioned such as the SB3/Touch and Sonoos

For me, the fact that the Transporter came with balanced and AES/EBU outputs was a huge plus over the other options at the time. I also believe it offers superior wireless streaming performance, especially with high Rez files. I think it has a faster processor and more ram then the other SB devices to help reduce dropouts (which I have never experienced anyway). This doesn't really matter to me much though as I have since moved to hard wired because I feel it sounds better in my system.

I run my SBT into a BelCanto DAC3 via AES/EBU then I feed my amp directly from the XLR Balanced outputs of the BelCanto. I have no complaints and feel no need to upgrade at this point.

If I had to do it over again I would purchase the new Bryston media player and feed it to my BelCanto or similar DAC/PRE and call it a day

Transporter owner here,

I am a bit biased I guess but I think this thing is the next best thing to sliced bread. I have zero regrets with purchasing mine despite a few quirks here and there. This is of course assuming that its being used as a, well, Transport.

IMO, I don't think using it as a Premp to feed an amp directly is a viable option despite it having all the connections and volume control to do so. Reason being, unless you have the volume fixed to 100% you aren't getting full output from the device and will suffer from reduced dynamic range.

I think the device shines when used in the two scenarios listed below:

Use it as a Transport that feeds another DAC/PRE (ie..Benchmark,BelCanto.. Etc)

Use it as a Transport/DAC feeding a standard Preamp

In response to "Vincent" post I have actually never used the DAC that comes with the Transporter in my system. I use the BelCanto DAC3 exclusively for its DAC/Pre capabilities.