Logitech Squeezebox Touch DAC: How Good?


Logitech Squeezebox Touch's are allegedly raining out of UPS trucks into the arms of new owners, as we speak.... or as you read this ;-)

NOW, advance word is that the analog out is a huge step up from it's predessor. It's alleged to have quite a good DAC.

How good?

Those of you with some experience on this matter - please speak up! It is stomping your Berkeley DAC? Empirical? Weiss? Peachtree? Cambridge? Devilsound?

(Is it listenable?!)

The world wants to know!

Art
artmaltman
I've been using a Squeezebox 2 for a few years now with an external Anthem DAC 2.0. My touch just arrived (flying of the UPS truck) yesterday and I look forward to comparing the two. Even if the sound is close, the Touch has a much cleaner UI and WAF.

Has anyone had a chance to compare a SB2 to the Touch yet?

brent
I have found that WAV files ripped with dB poweramp sound better than those ripped with EAC- More dimensional, better imaging etc. Using Touch analog outs into preamp.
I just got in touch with my Touch yesterday... ;o)
It sounds very nice.

I find that the sound is very good indeed, however I disc overed the same problem with mij VTL reference DAC. The signal cannot be found. This means that the DAC cannot lock the signal of the Touch.
I would definitely want to hear the Touch through the double mono Analog Devices 20400 tube DAC's
So I will have to try and see if there is a solution.
If someone has a good idea on how to solve this ?

Regards and have fun !, Laurens
Get in Touch ! ;o)
So far I'm finding that going using the analog outs of the Touch (Cardas Golden Ref interconnects into Cary SLI-80 into AU-24 into Silverline SR-17.5's), the following all sound very similar:
a. wireless out of my Mac (Leopard, not Snow Leopard) with cds ripped at 256,
b. wireless out of my Mac, with cds ripped Apple Lossless, and
c. SDHC card containing the 256 bit rate rips.

They all sound VERY musical, not fatiguing at all, with sufficient and extension to be very enjoyable. They are less saturated and less detailed and less extended than the sound out of my cd player (Cary 308T).

That said, it is EXTREMELY enjoyable. Somehow the convenience of flipping from album to album instantly, then jumping to internet radio - classical music out of France and Eastern Europe, .... there is HUGE pleasure in this.

I am increasingly curious to try a DAC with the Touch. Will probably happen early this coming week with a Bryston loaner from a good friend.

(DAN, the entire high end audio community of the planet earth is sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for you to lend me the Bryston DAC! ;-)

Art