DAC for Wireless Media Box

Hi,

I'm currently building a wireless server for music using an old Mac running iTunes sending data to a SlimDevices Squeezebox 2. The rest of the system comprises of a pair of B&W 805s and a Krell KAV-400xi amplifier.

In hi-fi terms it'll be replacing an Arcam CD23 with it's glorious RingDAC. Therefore I'm looking for a DAC into which to feed the digital output of the squeezebox which will provide sound quality which is at least as good as the CD23.

I'm assuming that the jitter out of a Squeezebox may not be very impressive (feel free to disabuse me of this belief if I'm wrong) so ideally I'll be looking for a DAC that buffers its input. I'd also like to get as close to an analogue sound as is possible so I'm quite keen on the idea of a DAC with tube output. The old MF Tri-Vista DAC is the sort of thing which appeals (although I don't know whether it buffers it input?)

So, for around 1000 GBP what are my options? I'm not necessarily averse to second-hand.

Any and all advice/opinions gratefully received,

Jules.

 

Cyrus DAC X springs to mind £1100

from my own forum, member "smartpower" has posted this advert:

 

Benchmark DAC1

 

Do not know about the technical aspects of buffering but the Quad 9CDP is what I use for i-Tunes and as it has all of those lovely other digitial inputs it is rather useful for the DVD etc.

 

i use an audio synthesis dax decade with a squeezebox 2 / pc setup. the a/s dax-2 is a good dac too. i'd thoroughly recommend either.
cheers


julian

 

Jules,

Before you spend any money on an external DAC I suggest you try the SB2 analogue output - you may be pleasantly surprised.

Wayne at Bolder Cable Co. is absolutely blown away by the quality of the SB2 and offers a relatively inexpensive mod (linear power supply, a few internal tweaks) that, in his opinion, transforms it into a world beater.

R.

 

Has anyone tested & compared that going wireless actually reduces the quality of sound quite alot?

Earlier on, I was using Airtunes (via airport & my powerbook) as an option. Using the digital signal into my chord64 DAC, sounded gd till I connect the powerbook directly to the chord64 DAC. The improvement was huge. And so, that ended my wireless journey.

 

monotone,
i would suggest that the results you saw were more down to the quality of the digital output on the airtunes compared to your powerbook rather than wired vs wireless. i've tried my squeezebox 2 wired and wireless and can detect no difference between the two (as there shouldn;t be as at the point of wireless transfer data is data and is buffered in the squeezebox).
the squeezebox 2's digital output is not as good as the best digital transports however it's certainyl better than most sub 1000 ukp cd players used as a transport / transports . it's also a large improvement over the squeezebox 1.
cheers


julian