[googlephone]

I'm currently using my SB Duet to feed a SN Dackit. I'm waiting on delivery of an Audio-GD Ref 1. I'm always looking for the next level in improvements. I'm curious if anyone has upgraded from the Duet to the Transporter but used a decent external DAC and found improvements? I'm tempted to go the Transporter route just for the 24/96 capabilities, but it appears there will be a new SB Touch coming out soon that will have that capability.

 

[iriverdude]

I think transporter has improved digital output but whether or not can tell don't know. I've got two Squeezebox's, replacing them both with two transpoters is quite expensive (at a cost of £2224) so SB3 will do for now 24/96 not really a big deal yet. I use digital out on both SB3 as well.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm currently using my SB Duet to feed a SN Dackit. I'm waiting on delivery of an Audio-GD Ref 1. I'm always looking for the next level in improvements. I'm curious if anyone has upgraded from the Duet to the Transporter but used a decent external DAC and found improvements? I'm tempted to go the Transporter route just for the 24/96 capabilities, but it appears there will be a new SB Touch coming out soon that will have that capability.

It makes no sense to me to upgrade to a Transporter to use it with an external DAC. Since you bought my Duet you know I upgraded from that and the KECES DAC to a Transporter. The Transporter already has a high quality DAC and that is one of its selling points.

Is there something specific about the KECES that you didn't like? The last I heard from you it seemed that you were getting on fine with the setup.

--Jerome

 

[IPodPJ]

It makes plenty of sense. I did it and there is a major improvement in audio quality.

googlephone,
I had the Duet and sold it because the Transporter is a much better transport. I also use the Ref1 and the difference isn't subtle.

 

[jsaliga]

Care to share the specifics or is it really just all about throwing a big wad of money at it? [size=large]Major[/size] improvement? Really? Color me a skeptic.

As I recall, Esoteric uses the same DAC as the Transporter, as do several other purveyors of high quality sources.

Perhaps I am being a bit too hard on you...but there are way too many people at Head-Fi who seem to overstate the improvements they notice after dropping a lot of money on their latest toy.

I will say that I don't think the Transporter sounds that much better than the Squeezebox Duet and KECES DAC. What buying the Transporter did for me was to replace two boxes with one. The Transporter is also easier to set up and work with than the Duet. I had about $700 into my Duet and KECES setup. I paid $1,450 for my Transporter brand new. If I had it to do over again I still would have made the change. But if I never did buy the Transporter I don't feel that I would be missing a lot in terms of sound quality (Note: I am sure that will be someone's que to jump in and say that is because I didn't spend an extra $2K for the Modwrite mods or another $3K for a DAC).

--Jerome

 

[argentum]

Don't you know that flatulence is often a major component in Head-Fi impressions/reviews? Every other reviewer is blown away, calling himself crazy or has seen sonic revelation when he/she has got a new DAC, amp or cable to play with.

 

[jsaliga]

Well I don't mean to suggest that someone can't hear a difference when they change out sources. But in my experience there is a point of diminishing returns -- particularly with sources and amps -- and that point is much further down the price scale than what conventional wisdom would suggest. If you really want to change the sound signature of your system, then change transducers since they have more impact on what you hear than any amp, DAC, or source.

I have certainly had some great, satisfying moments when doing upgrades. I was very happy with my Rega P7 turntable. But then I upgraded to a hefty Sota Star Sapphire and found it to be a very worthwhile change. But I have also had several disappointments, most recently with a $2,500 MC phono cartridge I tried, that didn't sound anywhere near as good as a $600 cartridge I owned.

Because of these experiences and others, I just will not accept that there is some sort of linear scale of price to sound quality. So a $100,000 amp doesn't necessarily sound an order of magnitude better (or even any better) than a $3,000 amp.

Having said that, I will always leave open the possibility that my tired, soon to be 50-year old ears just can't hear as well as they used to.

--Jerome

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsaliga /img/forum/go_quote.gif Care to share the specifics or is it really just all about throwing a big wad of money at it? [size=large]Major[/size] improvement? Really? Color me a skeptic. As I recall, Esoteric uses the same DAC as the Transporter, as do several other purveyors of high quality sources. Perhaps I am being a bit too hard on you...but there are way too many people at Head-Fi who seem to overstate the improvements they notice after dropping a lot of money on their latest toy. I will say that I don't think the Transporter sounds that much better than the Squeezebox Duet and KECES DAC. What buying the Transporter did for me was to replace two boxes with one. The Transporter is also easier to set up and work with than the Duet. I had about $700 into my Duet and KECES setup. I paid $1,450 for my Transporter brand new. If I had it to do over again I still would have made the change. But if I never did buy the Transporter I don't feel that I would be missing a lot in terms of sound quality (Note: I am sure that will be someone's que to jump in and say that is because I didn't spend an extra $2K for the Modwrite mods or another $3K for a DAC). --Jerome

I'm not using the Transporter as a DAC. I'm using it strictly as a transport. I know, I know... some people think it's a waste of money not to even use it's DAC. Here's the scoop:

Before I sold my Duet, I had both available to use as a transport with my Reference One. The Transporter sounded much better. I also had a regulated power supply for my Duet, which I still have and is up for sale, in addition to custom cables for it. While the combo sounded extremely good as a transport, the Transporter just performs better, and 99.9% of my music is redbook. It could have better regulated power supplies that the CIAudio I was using with the Duet. It certainly has a better digital output stage (clock, isolation, parts on the PCB) than the Duet, and perhaps the SlimDSP in the Transporter is also contributing to it's better sound quality.

Next answer... I'm not using it as a DAC because the Reference One is better. But the Transporter does have a very good DAC, Stereophile rated the Transporter as #2 out of about 20 transport/DAC combos, only beaten by the Chord DAC64/Chord Blu Transport combo. I was surprised at this myself when I read it. I find the Transporter's DAC lacks bass authority and detail. The upper registers are too edgy/digital-sounding and the mids a little too recessed for my taste. I don't want my digital to sound digital, and the Reference One accomplishes that.

I'm not the kind of person that will keep a product just because I spent more money on it or because it's a "new toy." If it doesn't outperform the previous product by whatever margin I deem acceptable (which usually doesn't have to be much), it will be returned.

I do agree with you that the set-up is much easier than the Duet and the functionality of the Transporter is amazing. It is a pleasure to use and one of my favorite components now. I paid $1340 for my new unit. I could have got a new silver one for $1225 but I insisted on having a black one to match every other component I have.

 

[googlephone]

I did find the Duet/Keces combo to be very enjoyable until I head the Ref1. After that I could not stop thinking about how much of an improvement the Ref1 made to the overall sound. Believe me I would have loved to find the Ref1 was just a minor improvement and move on, but after hearing it to me there is no turning back. Obviously I will not just go out and purchase a Transporter on a whim until I actually do a true comparison. Just looking for real world feedback first. I'm hoping that most of you would just say that for 16bit/44khz flac files the duet and transporter sound the same, but I'm have funny suspicion that this will not be. The 24/96 is just icing on the cake.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm hoping that most of you would just say that for 16bit/44khz flac files the duet and transporter sound the same, but I'm have funny suspicion that this will not be. The 24/96 is just icing on the cake.

Yes, that would be a nice hope, but isn't the case. You're comparing the Duet receiver which is $149 retail to a $1999 retail product.

I also plan on modding my Transporter eventually with the Audio-gd low jitter clock, power supply, and digital output board so that it pairs with the Ref1 as well as his CD7 transport is supposed to. He sells these parts so cheap it's ridiculous.

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, that would be a nice hope, but isn't the case. You're comparing the Duet receiver which is $149 retail to a $1999 retail product.

I just wish people on this forum would stop focusing on price. Attention is better paid to how the designs differ. More money does not necessarily get you a better sounding product.

--Jerome

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did find the Duet/Keces combo to be very enjoyable until I head the Ref1. After that I could not stop thinking about how much of an improvement the Ref1 made to the overall sound. Believe me I would have loved to find the Ref1 was just a minor improvement and move on, but after hearing it to me there is no turning back.

I think the important thing is that you are happy with your set up.

--Jerome

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsaliga /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just wish people on this forum would stop focusing on price. Attention is better paid to how the designs differ. More money does not necessarily get you a better sounding product. --Jerome

You're right. I agree with you completely and I normally don't do price comparisons. When I am evaluating equipment, I don't even regard price at all. Some of my cheaper cords and cables are better than my much more expensive ones. In the case of the Transporter, I was trying to imply that there is a lot more hardware and better quality components inside the unit. I should have made that more clear.

There aren't too many pictures on the internet of the internals of the Transporter, so it's hard to get a real close-up look at them. But there are some pictures, so you can at least get a general feel for what's going on. The great thing is that more than half of the chassis is completely empty so you have plenty of room for mods. The designers obviously took this in consideration, as well as making sure there was plenty of distance from the CPU section and the audio section, to isolate noise as much as possible.

 

[Toad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by googlephone /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm hoping that most of you would just say that for 16bit/44khz flac files the duet and transporter sound the same, but I'm have funny suspicion that this will not be. The 24/96 is just icing on the cake.

have you read the 24bit vs 16bit thread in the sound science forum? It's quite interesting.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f133/2...ploded-415361/

 

[Tachikoma]

Quote:

Next answer... I'm not using it as a DAC because the Reference One is better. But the Transporter does have a very good DAC, Stereophile rated the Transporter as #2 out of about 20 transport/DAC combos, only beaten by the Chord DAC64/Chord Blu Transport combo. I was surprised at this myself when I read it. I find the Transporter's DAC lacks bass authority and detail. The upper registers are too edgy/digital-sounding and the mids a little too recessed for my taste. I don't want my digital to sound digital, and the Reference One accomplishes that.

Just a little point to make, the Transporter's DAC section is exactly the same as the AK4396's evaluation board from what I've heard ie: it could be better.

Quote:

I also plan on modding my Transporter eventually with the Audio-gd low jitter clock, power supply, and digital output board so that it pairs with the Ref1 as well as his CD7 transport is supposed to. He sells these parts so cheap it's ridiculous.

I hope the parts Audio-gd is selling are actually better than the ones already inside the Transporter... the digital output is the Transporter's main selling point, after all. Maybe a word clock output could be made on the Ref1 so you can slave the Transporter to it?