Squeezebox or Transporter (again)

Once more unto the breech: Transporter, or a Squeezebox to an external DAC

Yes, I know this has been discussed a fair amount in the recent past, and some folks were getting ready to make decisions on one or the other. But I'm about to plunk down my money for one of these combos to feed my soon-to-arrive Summits, and I would love to hear the latest thoughts on these.

Without listening to either yet (which I'll obviously do before my final decision), my impression is that both routes produce high-quality music with relatively small differences. Now I don't consider myself a 'purist' audiophile. There's no question I really enjoy good music and I love the sound I get from high-quality gear, I'm just not interested 'squeezing out every nuance' from my system. Also, my system is in the 'sonically challenged' family room and doubles as a home theater for the rest of the family. (Probably 60% 2-channel music for me, 95% home theater overall.) Given that the music quality is good enough, I'm not sure the room will let me hear the differences (and I'm not sure it would bother me if I could).

So what's probably left is cost and appearance. Depending on the DAC, I can get a high quality SB3/DAC combo for somewhere in the $800-$1300 range, while the Transporter will run me $2000. Obvious advantage to the SB3. On the other hand, I really like how the Transporter looks. (Its probably just me, but I think the SB3 looks a little hokey.) Advantage to the Transporter.

Oh well, hopefully I'll get some more input. (Which, of course, will probably be conflicting. )

The SB3 doesn't look as hokey in person as it does in photos.

I couldn't justify $2K for the Transporter when you can have more flexibility with a SB3 and external DAC.

TomDac said:

The SB3 doesn't look as hokey in person as it does in photos.

I couldn't justify $2K for the Transporter when you can have more flexibility with a SB3 and external DAC.

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Yeah, I know. I think its the technogeek in me that loves the look of the Transporter.

So, then, what are your thoughts on a DAC? The Benchmark DAC1 and Lavry DA10 seem to be the consensus pack leaders in the price range I'm considering (both in the mid $900 range on the net, I believe). Any others you might consider?

I don't mean to be negative, if you are going to spend $2k on the transporter I believe that you would be better spending that money on a proper cdp/dac. Then get a SB3 and be done with it.

just my .002

Right now, I'm auditioning my SB3 with a DAC, the PS Audio Digital Link III ($1,000). Looks to be a good combo as first impressions were very good. I'm on call again today, so no music listening... but I'll be off tomorrow so I'll make sure to make time between studying to run a better and more grueling A/B session to give you a good idea of what a good DAC will do with the SB3. Only thing is, I never heard the Transporter.

Joey

Another solution to consider is a Sonos system with an external DAC for the main music system. This is the solution I am considering. I already have the Benchmark DAC1, which I am very happy with. The advantage of Sonos is the ability to have whole house music with a fairly intuitive wireless controller. Using the external DAC for the main music system should provide the quality you will need in your critical listening environment.

With this said, I have not actually tried this combo. I would be very interested in anyone's experience with this combo before I fork out the dough. Makes sense in my head, but hard to beat personnal experience.

Joey_V said:

... <try to> run a better and more grueling A/B session to give you a good idea of what a good DAC will do with the SB3. Only thing is, I never heard the Transporter.

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Not a problem, Joey, I'll be happy with any input you can give.

Also, not having heard the Transporter is becoming less of a problem for me. I'm leaning more and more towards the SB3 and an external DAC. It just makes more sense, I think. (Down, Technogeek, down! Just 'cause it looks pretty, doesn't mean it's the best. Haven't you learned that yet? )

What worries me about all these options is what my MP3s are going to sound like after I spend $1k on a DAC and whatever a SB3 goes for ...

Nothing like spending all that and then having to listen to MP3s that sound like Terry Jones hitting specially trained mice with a rubber mallet.

charliemike, Flac flac flac!

discocarp said:

charliemike, Flac flac flac!

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Flac flac flac flac!!!!!!

discocarp said:

charliemike, Flac flac flac!

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CM is an idiot and can't figure out how to encode in FLAC.

I've tried EAC and it pwnz me.

CM cries himself to sleep every night because deep down in places he doesn't talk about at parties he wants FLAC on his PC, he NEEDS FLAC on his PC.

Hehe! Here's a link I give to friends to get them started with FLAC, EAC, and AccurateRip.

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=30959

charliemike said:

CM is an idiot and can't figure out how to encode in FLAC.

I've tried EAC and it pwnz me.

CM cries himself to sleep every night because deep down in places he doesn't talk about at parties he wants FLAC on his PC, he NEEDS FLAC on his PC.

Click to expand...

Charlie!
Alright, that's it... PM me and I'll send you my cell #. Then Charlie can call Joey and Joey will tell Charlie how to FLAC-inate Charlie's tunes!!

charliemike said:

What worries me about all these options is what my MP3s are going to sound like after I spend $1k on a DAC and whatever a SB3 goes for .

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You know, if you're primarily dealing with MP3s, it won't really matter what you're using for a front-end, player or DAC. You could burn your MP3s onto a CD, and then put it into a $10,000 Wadia or Krell transport/DAC unit, and it would stil sound like a crappy MP3. All the artifacts and distrotion would be crystal clear and you'd get tremendous detail in all the digital compression artifacts, but the MUSIC would still sound like crap, if the rest of your system is decent, ESPECIALLY if youre running Martin Logans and decent amps.

MP3s are for use on portable players and relatively inexpensive headphones. They are so (non-audiophile) kids, joggers, and commuters can keep a HUGE library on their players, and have something to listen to while they wander about in their trendy, label-emblazoned, latte-soaked world...

Use lossless compression, and abandon the MP3 format. Get any decent streamer, but unless you REALLY dig the displays and versitility of the Transporter, you might be better off with the Squeezebox, and put the money toward a good DAC.

--Richard

There is a really good step-by-instruction article or forum post for setting up EAC to use with an SB3 with your PC. It's straightforward when you have these well laid out steps. Once you get it setup it's as easy as clicking about 3 buttons each time you rip a CD.

Unfortunately, I don't know where these are posted. I think it was on the Slimdevices users forum. Perhaps Sleepysurf knows where that is. He is really good on the all the SB3 stuff and has helped me with some fix a fews bugs I've had.

Don't give up on it.

One of the issues I have is that my DVD burner isn't detected by EAC.

I have an old CD player I'm gonna set up and see if that helps.

Regarding MP3s, at higher bitrates and with VBR encoding, MP3s sound very decent on quality players and with quality head phones (Shure E2C or better). Can the difference between such MP3s and uncompressed/losslessly compressed music be heard in (double) blind tests? The results are inconclusive. Frankly, I don't care. I could not relax while listening to MP3 at home because I would always worry that I might be losing something. So, flac, flac, flac here, too. But we digress.

Regarding SB vs Transporter, the SB takes less rack space but the latter should be much more user friendly. Since the SB has only one display, one must traverse the menu system up and down to go from the play list (e.g. the album which is playing) to the Now Playing menu, and back. If the dual displays on the Transporter can be controlled and used for navigation independently, that would be a great convenience. If not the Transporter loses a lot of its appeal.

Another potential advantage of the Transporter is its balanced design, for those who need it.

The DAC which I would get to upgrade a Squeezebox is the CIAudio VDA-2 plus VAC-1 power supply, for $760.

Craig said:

Unfortunately, I don't know where these are posted. I think it was on the Slimdevices users forum.

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Configuring EAC for ripping DOES take a bit of work, but is definitely worth the effort. Here's the link for a wiki on the Slim website, which walks you through the process...
http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cgi?EACBeginners

You can also do a Google search with key words EAC, Slimserver, Squeezebox, FLAC, etc. to find more articles. EAC can also be configured with AccurateRip... http://www.accuraterip.com which adds even more confidence to your rips. Unfortunately, setting AccurateRip up is also a cumbersome process.

Someday, there will be a simple one-click solution (a la iTunes) specifically designed for FLAC, but alas, that day has not yet come.

Charlie,

Like I said, my offer still stands. I'll help you do whatever so you can get your CDs into Flac.

My addition to the thread.... I will agree... I think SB3 + DAC is better than Transporter itself. And, as cool as the Transporter is, I dont think it's a Sonos. So it's probably better to get a Sonos + DAC for the same price as a Transporter.

Joey