Logitech Squeezebox Touch DAC: How Good?

Art,

Thanks for this update. I've been waiting for someone to post on it. At this point I am planning to get a SB Touch sort of as a poor man's Transporter but am waiting to see what others' opinions are before jumping. I did want the 24/96 capability so that's the reason I haven't bought a Duet or the original SB. I'm also intrigued by the idea of adding an inexpensive USB hard drive to stream music. Please keep updating this thread as you get more experience and thanks for being willing to be the first to post.

Dick

Thanks for the comment Dick. I suspect that the Touch will retain a high level of used value for quite some time so particularly at it's price, it's a safe bet to try out. And you might find that it fills your needs just fine without a DAC. In my system it is definitely very enjoyable.

BTW, Cardas Golden Ref would probably not be the interconnect of choice to liven up a "flat" sounding source, so I may end up experimenting with that. I love CGR in virtually all applications but perhaps Nordost here?

Also I'm runing Mac OS 10.5.8 "Leopard". Rumors are that the 10.6.x "Snow Leopard" actually sounds better when driving a Squeezebox. Who knows - we shall see.

The Bryston DAC test will be very very interesting :-)

FYI, I was able to stream 24/96 aiff files through Touch wireless from Windows server using a USB hard drive. Sounds great.

I am running my Squeezebox Classic 3 with a new IMAC 10.6 and i must say we notice a difference... things moved up a notch - i'm not saying night and day but a nice upgrade in the sound with things sounding fuller and livelier.

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