[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's THE The 'Transport' is a better transport than the SB?

No contest!

 

[tyrion]

I've been using the SB3/Apogee for about a week so far. I am happy with the sq but it's can't touch the DV-50. I have another issue with the SB3. I find that I don't listen to cds as much do to the easier access. I guess I am trying to figure out where this setup should fit in terms of my listening priorities. It's nice to have Sirius but again, while it's easier in terms of the effort ,the sq is far from that I get from the DV-50. Just some personal ramblings.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've been using the SB3/Apogee for about a week so far. I am happy with the sq but it's can't touch the DV-50.

I wonder which one might be the "weak link" in that chain? Is it the SB3's ability as a transport? The apogee as a DAC? I'm guessing that everything downstream is the same when you're comparing that setup to the DV-50. One of these days jp#'s is going to put an after market power supply on his Apogee and I'll be very curious to hear the results of before and after listening. I know that to my ears the analog outputs of the SB3 improved greatly when used with a high-quality regulated supply and wonder if the same might be true of the Apogee? Stock it uses a switching power supply and while that's not necessarily a bad thing replacing it would be the easiest thing to modify since you wouldn't have to open the case. I'm not sure if jp will have his new PS in time for the Florida Meet but it shouldn't be too long after that.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder which one might be the "weak link" in that chain? Is it the SB3's ability as a transport? The apogee as a DAC? I'm guessing that everything downstream is the same when you're comparing that setup to the DV-50. One of these days jp#'s is going to put an after market power supply on his Apogee and I'll be very curious to hear the results of before and after listening. I know that to my ears the analog outputs of the SB3 improved greatly when used with a high-quality regulated supply and wonder if the same might be true of the Apogee? Stock it uses a switching power supply and while that's not necessarily a bad thing replacing it would be the easiest thing to modify since you wouldn't have to open the case. I'm not sure if jp will have his new PS in time for the Florida Meet but it shouldn't be too long after that.

I would guess both. I chalk it up to comparing a source that was $5,000 at retail compared to under $1000 for the Apogee and SB3. While money doesn't always translate into better sound, I think in this instance it does. I realize that is a simplistic explanation but frankly, it's all I am capable of.

 

[n_maher]

Simple minds must think alike then since it makes perfect sense to me!

Maybe you can get Gene with his modified SB3 power supply and John with his modified Apogee power supply in the same room and see if the combo together gets you any closer to the DV-50?

 

[Dan the man]

"If you're interested in details: the DAC is Benchmark's DAC1, with Sennheiser HD25 headphones. Probably not the best system available, but a certain sonic delight for me. I'd recommend this set-up to anyone looking for good bedside music. I drive the Squeezebox via Ethernet cable with a Powerbook and an offboard hard disk."

I am confused about what the SB3 actually does. For a wireless music stream from an Apple PowerBook Pro, isn't there a way to use Next-generation 802.11n technology which offers up to five times the performance and twice the range as the previous standard.* Mac and PC compatible with an Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station. It has optical out I believe.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder which one might be the "weak link" in that chain? Is it the SB3's ability as a transport?

My opinion is that the DAC in the DV-50 is definitely superior to the ones inside the Apogee, ACK! dACK! and the Transporter.

Using the ACK! dACK!, I find the SQ to be similar whether it is from the SB3 or the TP, so I don't think it has anything to to with the SB3's ability as a transport.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Using the ACK! dACK!, I find the SQ to be similar whether it is from the SB3 or the TP, so I don't think it has anything to to with the SB3's ability as a transport.

Thanks for that Aaron, I had taken your first post on this page to mean that it was no contest between the SB3 and TP when it came to pure transport duty. It sure would make my wallet feel better to know that they were even close!

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth /img/forum/go_quote.gif The 'Transport' is a better transport than the SB?

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif No contest!

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Using the ACK! dACK!, I find the SQ to be similar whether it is from the SB3 or the TP, so I don't think it has anything to to with the SB3's ability as a transport.

That second statement makes more sense to me also. Also, only after turning off the digital volume control (to "Fixed") of the SB did it become a satisfying transport for me.

 

[jules650]

Quote:

Originally Posted by eyeteeth /img/forum/go_quote.gif That second statement makes more sense to me also. Also, only after turning off the digital volume control (to "Fixed") of the SB did it become a satisfying transport for me.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't
100% volume + digital volume activated = digital volume "fixed?

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jules650 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't 100% volume + digital volume activated = digital volume "fixed?

Almost. I discovered this information after I was dissatisfied with the SB as a transport. All was well after I took the "manipulation" out of the loop. Also, 'Bit Rate Limiting' set to "No Limit" (even though 16 is the limit, unlike the Transporter).

http://wiki.slimdevices.com/index.cg...stAudioQuality

"If the volume control is enabled in the SqueezeBox then the digital information provided by slimserver is manipulated by the firmware and output through the digital output. This manipulation may cause some loss of information. If the digital volume control is switched off then the SqueezeBox simply plays what it receives and your DAC does the job it did before when it was directly connected to a CD transport."

 

[immtbiker]

I wonder if the the "wireless" connection can attribute to some s/q loss when comparing to the DV-50 and stand-alone DACS?

It really shouldn't...but does it

?

 

[Icarium]

Well, the DAC chip it uses is that "Miracle" AKM chip that APL hifi uses that is supposedly very good. APL says it is surrounded by low quality op amps though... but yeah I think that it is wireless has to contribute to the sq difference. There have to be invariably lost bits even with a lot of redundancy and no error correction is perfect.

The DV50 sure sounds fine though

 

[Peccary]

I compared my SBIII to my Stello DA100 and it isn't even fair to discuss them in the same sentence. So the SBIII is a great wireless solution but best used with an external DAC.

 

[immtbiker]

But we were wondering if the Transporter DAC was better than most external dacs and they are, not the SB3. However when comparing the sq to a high end CDP like the DV-50, the Transporter DAC takes second place.

The SB3 is best if used with an external DAC. Heck the SB3 could have been gotten for $229...how could we expect it to have superior components.