Bas Cancrinus;608712 Wrote: > I have a plain SB3 (no ext. DAC or anything) and it's time for a serious > upgrade. What I understand from this thread is that I should: > > 1. buy an SB Touch; > 2. apply Klaus' mods to free resources, which are needed for a > bit-perfect S/PDIF output signal; > 3. buy a Blue Jeans s/pdif coax; > 4. buy an ext. DAC. > > Am I right? > I read a very positive review of the Cambridge DacMagic (2008, EUR > 425), are there any other DACs in that price range that I should try? > > TIA!!
2 not true. Klaus' mods may or may not improve the sound, but they aren't needed for bit perfect output. One explanation of why (if ) they work is that by reducing RF interference they lessen jitter. But in both cases the digital output of the Touch is bit perfect. Wow, there are a lot of DACs in the $400- $700 price range. You should probably try several if you can. The Music Hall, the MF-1 (just recently favorably reviewed here), the DACmini(more like $800), the higher end HRT streamer, and others. I always recommend looking at the second hand market for DACs. They don't have moving parts, so there isn't much to go wrong on a working used one. You can often get a second hand DAC with SQ well above what you could afford with a new one. Audiophiles are constantly upgrading DACs and selling their older ones, so there is quite a good second hand market for them. Of course listen to the Touch "as is" first, you may find it quite satisfactory on its own. -- firedog Tranquil PC fanless WHS server running SqueezeServer; SB Touch slaved to Empirical Audio Pace Car; MF V DAC3, MF X-150 amp, Devore Gibbon Super 8 Speakers; Dual 506 + Ortofon 20 (occasional use); sometimes use PC with M-Audio 192 as digital source. SB Boom in second room. Arcam CD82 which I don't use anymore, even though it's a very good player. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ firedog's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=11550 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=84903 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
