Ok the results are in.
I've A/B'ed using the Pioneer 1015tx reciever with the
RCA's from the DAC-1 connected to the CD input of the
reciever and the RCA's from the Squeezebox 3 connected
to the DVD/LD inputs of the reciever. Speakers used were
Merlin TSM-M. This is the reciever which I have just sold
to my friend along with my old speakers, both of which I
should be delivering to him right after my exams are over
at the end of this month.
Sidenote: I'll take back what I said to akwok as the SB3
and DAC-1 do have a very "neutral" sound to them. Not
warmish or anything and the DAC-1 may even be a little
"bright" or tipped up in treble. Other than that neutral is
what I hear.
- Greater bass definition/clarity
When concentrating on the drums playing in the background,
I found that just using the Squeezebox 3's DAC, the drums
weren't as clearly defined. Even when trying to hear the
drums, sometimes it was muffled behind the vocals and not
discernable, like I hear different parts of the drum but not
a smooth continuous sound of the drum.
- Greater instrument, vocal seperation
Vocals were more forward and focused in the middle of the
stage compared to being a big blob or sound from the front.
Vocals seemed more like a "2-foot" wide sound coming from
the middle compared to say a "5-foot" wide sound. Focused
is the word.
The greater instrument seperation probably helped me and
is related to how the drums were more "clear" with the
DAC-1.
- Greater depth, width
Vocals were more forward with the DAC-1, albeit possibly
to do with a slightly tipped up treble region. With the
vocals forward, the drums naturally fell behind the singer
while still being very "clear" sounding, as in I could
hear the drums better.
Transparency is the next thing. I found on one track that
with one of the voices at one point sounds like it's coming
straight out of the right speaker while with the DAC-1, it
sounds like it's coming from a point just inside the right
speaker, thus not drawing attention to the speaker itself.
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Keep in mind that these results aren't conclusive and are
only what I'm hearing. Take the results with a grain of
salt. I don't blast my music loudly as I believe in easy
listening level music with more a bias towards soundstaging
and vocals.
============================================
Conclusion:
The SB3 is an excellent "starter source". It is
multifaceted in how it can be an all-in-one source.
You can stream music from it and still use the internal
DAC, or headphone out to listen to the music straight.
As time passes, you can upgrade multiple items around
it and still use it to stream music.
If only used to streaming music, it's still excellent
value for money and I totally recommend it.
