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Just picked up this thread.
A Standac (or similar external DAC) lifts a Squeezebox into and entirely different league.
The Squeezebox's internal DAC is not very good.
If someone cannot hear the difference the following analogue chain is highly suspect, or the link between the two boxes is faulty,or the hearer needs to find an audiologist and have his ears checked!
Agreed!Quote:
Originally Posted by Labarum
Agreed! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Labarum
Quote:
Originally Posted by Labarum
Labarum is spot on.
A Standac will spank the SB3 - different planet. But I suspect, as others do, that it only really shines in exalted company. Pair it with decent amp and speakers and you'll be rewarded no end.
Which others dacs did you try, and on which amp-speaker pair ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Spur07
I'm surprised by the very different opinions you can hear about that.
Actually, I was surprised to see that upgrading my amp dimished the difference between TC-7520 and SB3 (both much better than with my old amp)
I tried the TC-7520 on amp+speaker up to around 5000 euros, and will soon have the opportunity to try on much more expensive systems.
My TC-7520 with LM4562NA is better than SB3, but I wouldn't say that it spanks the SB3, and put it on a different planet ...
I found that upgrading my old Cambridge amp to the Pioneer A9 greatly demonstrated the difference between the SB3 and SB3 with 7520 in terms of detail resolution and openness. I miss the sins of omission character of the cambridge though and find the Pioneer to be a bit lean at times. Shades of early Linn LP12 "mid range thickness" vs more analytical SOTA or Oracle type sound. Got to start saving for a Moon amplifier LOL
The SB and the 7520 comparison very much comes down to how you like your music to sound and the kit you partner it with. The SB does sound pretty good IMO but the 7520 has the edge by a bit of a margin on detail which is not always to everyones liking. Some songs sound better on the SB as it has a bit more.....filler if you like, it just sounds a little meatier than the 7520 does with the NE5532 which wrings an awful lot of detail from every recording.
I find the analogue out of both SB3 and Duet in stock form only ok for background music, serious listening compared to a decent external dac it sounds very compressed lacking any realism and involvement imo
Perhaps I should add my also slightly unfashionable view. This however is not SB related but maybe is relevant in some way.
I find that the 7520 connected to my Meridian 588 is marginally better than the 588 used purely as a CDP. It really is very close so in my very limited experience of connecting the 7520 to one example of a CDP this is not a great upgrade.
Connecting the 7520 to my computer to play the same WAVs via Foobar/ASIO4ALL is a totally different story. The CDP is well and truly spanked to such an extent that it is full-on abuse!
You'll get no arguments from me Clive.
Computers are the future :)