USB Ext Sound Card Vs. Squeebox


I need your opinion on the following setups. Which system will sound better?

1. Mac Mini with USB Sound Card + DAC
2. Mac Mini with Wifi Squeebox + same DAC

I am playing WAV as the music format.
I assume option 1 is better but option 2 is a cleaner setup for me. Has anyone tried both setups? And is there a noticeable difference?

Thanks.
Sean
seanchau
Actually, I tried the USB option before and it sounded really good. I'm trying to setup my system again and want the convinience of the wifi option using the Squeezebox.

What is a boulder basic digital mod with a linear power supply?
This one is totally up to you. I don't think there is a black and white answer. If it were me I would go from the Mac Mini to a USB DAC like the Benchmark DAC1 USB or a Wavelength DAC.

- Chris
Computer Audiophile | Turn Down The Silence
http://www.computeraudiophile.com
I just purchase a Squeezebox. I will test to see if I hear a difference between the suqeezebox wifi versus an external usb sound card. Both of which will be using the same DAC (Ack).
Sqeezebox has a really good digital out, supposedly you will be hard pressed to find a difference between a good cd player as a transport versus the squeezebox + FLAC encoding
I guess most of you don't understand my question.

Anyhow, this is what I found. Using the same DAC and setup, the Squeezebox does not sound as good as the External USB sound card. The overall detail seems to be lacking a bit. I am guessing this is because the Squeezebox is through a wireless network where as the External sound card is using USB 2.0. I'm not sure if this make any sense to anyone but that is what I found.