The 'garbage in garbage out' thing is mostly dispelled by serious reviewers. Why? Because it is not the case. The if the speakers are bad -- ie, incapable of reproducing with any accuracy the signalk -- and if the room interactions are bad, the the sound will be bad. Of course, Linn had a product to sell, namely, a very expensive turn table that is no longer the state-of-the-art -- and he would say as much. It's a really nasty phrase, anyway, and it hardly applies to the digital world. Read through some issues of The Absolute Sound. Talk to Dave Wilson.
Think of it this way. In most systems, there are two mechanical devices: the transport and the speakers. The speakers are, by far, the worst, least reliable, and harder to control element in the audio chain. When you introduce a device like the squeezebox, you have eliminated one mechanical problem; when you introduce a DAC that buffers the incoming signal and then eliminates jitter, who have essentially optimized the source. Most competent sources are actually very, very good. If you sit down and really audition, say, a better made Pioneer CD player against, say, the Audio Aero and other expensive players I've had, you'd be surprised -- if your mind were open to it -- at how subtle most differences are. That doesn't mean they are not worthwhile! So, what is left? Taking for granted that, for a reasonable cost (if you imagine a $300 SB3 and a $1,000 DAC to be reasonable), you can get very, very close to an ideal source, you need now to deal with your speakers and room. If you get your system equalized (manually, with a TacT preamp or integrated amp, etc.) and deal with reflections with a combination of treatments and careful placement...you'll be smiling. For me, then, the priority is to get the speakers and room right. IF your sound producing elements are revealing and correct, it then becomes easy to try out and judge various sources. Anyway, that is my opinion, and the opinion of others. Naturally, some people differ, for their own reasons, and that's fine. I really appreciate your posts, by the way. It is nice to talk about these things without fighting! -- highdudgeon ------------------------------------------------------------------------ highdudgeon's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2195 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19475 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
