> 1) The SB2 is hooked to the network via ethernet cable, but my iBook is > going wireless through an Airport card. Will it make any difference > whether I hook up the iBook with an ethernet cable too?
If you don't notice any drop outs streaming then the transport medium shouldn't make any difference. > 2) Does it make any difference how long the ethernet cables are? Cable length shouldn't impact your streaming experience unless they are very long (>300 feet theoretical). > 3) Am I going to notice a huge difference if I get a bigger hard drive > and go to lossless compression instead of 320 kbps? In my view this is a subjective question. I personally don't notice any different between my lossless flac and 320kbps streaming. I don't have a $1000 dac either...however 320kbps is a great way to listen if that is what is available. Others may disagree though. I am a great fan of flac for the pure reason that it is the same as the original cd quality. I have not lost anything ripping it to pc and thus have not lost anything by throwing away my cds. > ) I don't really have $1,000 to spend on a DAC; how much am I hurting my > sound by going out the SB2's analog outs? With the quality of my > amp/speaker setup, should I bite the bullet and get a decent DAC? > This is also one of those subjective questions. I guess if you have never driven the Ferrari then you won't know what you are missing. I don't have...(and probably won't ever buy) a $1000+ DAC. I have a reasonable DAC in my system and it plays music that sounds better than my reasonably priced CD player, so I am happy. My belief is that most people would be happy streaming from the RCA (or digital) outs to a reasonable system. (After all it's the music that counts, right? (anyone up for the LP versus CD digression?)). The DAC in the Squeezebox is quite reasonable and after reading quite a few discussions on this forum comparing different hardware my conclusion is that the Squeezebox is an absolutely excellent buy for what you get. -- tgoldstone _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
