Hello Auronthas, The most bang for the buck music wise is your output source i.e. your speakers. Is buying the DAC a move up in performance, it is. With your current system equipment will it be a realized gain, in other words, will I hear an improvement? IMO, one would be hard pressed to hear an over all improvement. It would probably be more hit and miss with certain little things under specific circumstances.
IMO, buy a pair of Vandersteen Model 1Cs (or other floor standing full range speaker maybe used Thiels or Vandy Model 2Cs) with the grand then save up some bucks and get a Transporter. Keep the Squeezebox for a second system or pair of powered speakers. If space is an issue or you are going to upgrade to pricier speakers later then buy a pair of Vandersteen VMS-1s to hang on the wall. When you upgrade from VMS-1s they can move to your secondary system or become your rears or surrounds in a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system. Think about the reason you would be buying the DAC. Isn't it to get more audio information to your source devices? Maybe more defined highs, deeper lower tighter bass, and to improve the clarity of the midrange. It is my opinion that the biggest issue in the audio market is that people have forgotten why they are buying what they are buying and that is what is driving the retail market. Ask yourself first, "Why do I need a DAC? The next question is, "Do I really need a DAC with the current equipment I have? Now even if the answer to question 1 and 2 is positive reason for getting a DAC, think again about why I need it, what area of my system it will improve, and what effect it will have on the other equipment. Will it force me to upgrade something else, if the answer is yes, buy what it will force you to upgrade first because that is where money needs to go, that is where the most improvement will be heard. Even more importantly, those spent hard earned dollars will be paying music dividends immediately instead of waiting until the piece that needs upgrading because of the change gets upgraded. Don't buy a turbo charger for your car just because you think you need one, think that you want one, or because everybody else is. This is doublely true if you want to turbo charge a Mustang GT and you own a Kia. Get the Mustang first, then maybe a Mustang GT, and then if you want more power and speed, buy the turbo. -- iPhone ------------------------------------------------------------------------ iPhone's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=13622 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=39226
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