Bwilson1

Fantastic album Have ripped the stereo DVD-A program to FLAC files and sounds great through my squeezebox touch.

Hello I am looking for the least expensive way to add hi-res capability to my system. I have a Musical Fidelity M1 DAC which can take 24/96 input. Currently I have no way to get this type of file into the DAC. It appears that the Squeezebox Touch can read a 24/96 Flac file. Since the price on the touch is attractive at the moment (225 on Amazon) I would be willing to invest this IF it gives me the following: Out of the box (no tweaking required) capability to read off a USB stick high res files (up to 24/96) that one could purchase off of HD tracks for example (the REM and Talking Heads content has me very interested. I would hope that more mainstream content will follow in the future) At this time I have no interest in attempting to stream the files to the Touch only local playback from USB stick drive. I cannot emphasize the out-of-the box functionality enough. I have no patience for playing home-brew IT manager to get it to work. I would appreciate it if someone who has a touch can comment on my desired funcitonality. Have folks played hi-res files without hiccup from the USB drive. I am aware of the issues with attempting to put a huge HD on the Touch local and I am NOT planning to do this. I would just like some real world field experience in hi-res local playback before I pull the trigger and buy a touch. Thanks in advance

Housemartins - People Who Grinned Themselves To Death

I would suggest you add KEF to the list. For your budget you would be looking at the new Q series new. If you are OK with buying used you could look at the xQ series. I have a pair of xQ10 stand mount speakers and the are the best that I have ever had and may be my last speakers. KEF approach is to use coincident drivers (UniQ) that places the tweeter in the middle of the woofer. It gives a very coherent sound from top to bottom with an especially pure midrange.

Zombies - Odessey and Oracle The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society REM - Life's Rich Pageant Beatles - Revolver Replacements -Tim U2-War XTC -Skylarking Trashcan Sinatras -Cake The La's The Housemartins - The People Who Grinned Themselves To Death

I have a Roku M1000 network player that natively decodes Apple Lossless files. While no longer in production it can be found on *bay for around 100 USD I have had mine for about 5 years and although it is limited to Redbook resolution I have had no desire to replace it. It communicates directly with iTunes and does not need (nor have) any resident server software. I have a 3 buck app (RokuRemote) that makes it a snap to control from my iPhone.

I have a Musical Fidelity M1 DAC that I am extremely happy with. It does not have Async USB though I only use the Coax and AES/EBU inputs. If you need Async USB you can always pair this DAC with a Musical Fidelity V-Link. The M1 is 699 USD and I think the V-Link is max 200 so this combination would be within your budget. Chris just did a very favorable review of these components so I would definitely check that out if not done so already.

I am with you on this. I just installed the last piece for my system - a Cambridge Audio iD100 iDevice digital dock. Now I can pass all of my digital content (apple lossless files on local hard drive via a Roku M1000) and streaming/internet radio digitally to my Musical Fidelity M1 DAC. I am good for a long time.

I am a happy new owner of the most recent iDevice digital dock on the market - the Cambridge Audio iD100 http://cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=605&Title=iD100+Digital+iPod+Dock I am running the balanced out (!) to the balanced input on my Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and thus far very pleased with the results. I bought the unit to mostly be able to stream internet radio and Pandora, Slacker, etc as well as playback 320k MP3 downloads from the MOG service. Although I am at the mercy of the resolution of the content in general I am surprised at how well things sound (especially internet radio at 128k and higher) It is priced below the Wadia dock and also comes with a nice remote control and a video cable (which I do not use) that allows a component connection to a monitor of choice. I would encourage any one in the market for a iDevice digital dock to check the Cambridge unit out. To me it is worth the asking price of 299 USD. And by the way it is fully compatible with the iPad.

I just recently acquired a Musical Fidelity M1 DAC and I am very happy with it. It replaced a Cambridge DacMagic and I feel that in my system it was a significant step up. Price is 699 so it is just at the edge of your budget.

I have had the M1 DAC for about a week now and I am happy with the purchase. It replaced a DacMagic.<br /> <br /> I think the biggest improvement is in soundstaging. I am hearing more depth (when present in the musical content) than with the Cambridge.<br /> <br /> I am also happy that it has a nice power supply. When I had voltage transients on my power line (such as the AC compressor kicking in or the washer/dryer) the DacMagic would lose lock momentarily with the Roku. I could not definitively prove it but my strong suspicion is the Wal Wart power supply.<br /> <br /> I think it is a good value for the price. <br /> <br />

Welcome to the harsh reality of digital music in 2011 The only way that I know of getting "CD Quality" (16/44.1) music onto your hard drive (for mainstream music) is to buy the physical CD yourself and rip using either uncompressed or lossless. I have about 1000 albums on a 1 TB drive all ripped in Apple Lossless. I then use a Roku Soundbrige M1000 to feed bit perfect output to an external DAC. The only mainstream site that I know of where you can get true CD quality music is Rhino. But they are very expensive for what you (dont) get. I always find that it is cheaper to buy the physical disc either new or used from Amazon (or your local store if you are lucky enough to have one). Bottom Line: For mainstream music (99.999999 of what typical folks are buying) the ONLY way to obtain CD quality is to buy the actual CD. I buy mostly used and view the CD as an archive. Plus it is nice the have the liner notes, photos, etc.

At this point yes it is. I only acquire CDs because for ALL of the music I listen to this is the only way to obtain the highest quality (16/44.1). I then rip these discs to Apple Lossless and use a six year old Roku M1000 (can be had on *Bay for 100 USD)to output bit-perfect (yes it does) PCM to an outboard DAC. I have not even considered attempting to replace the Roku even though it is limited to Redbook resolution. Why ? For the EXACT reason that you bring up in this thread. There is not a SINGLE title that I have yet seen available in a resolution higher than redbook that is of interest to me. Not one. And I do not believe that there will be anytime soon. When I can get a hold of the Village Green Preservation Society, Aurthur, Skylarking, Disintegration, Life's Rich Pageant, Pleased to Meet Me, etc, etc in anything higher than Redbook I will immediately upgrade my digital front-end to accomodate. I am not holding my breath. What I worry about is the time "after CD". My worry is that when CDs go away we will be left with exactly what we have now: lossy downloads. I agree with another poster: this is THE thread that in my mind everything associated with Computer Audio is hinged upon.

Marantz SA8004 - Anyone ??

Looks like the Marantz SA8004 is one of the most versatile digital boxes available today: http://us.marantz.com/Products/3223.asp It appears to be 4 devices in one: 1. CD Player 2. SACD Player 3. iPod/iPhone Digital Dock (like Wadia 170i) 4. DAC Quite alot of functionality for the MSRP of 995 USD I would be very interested in feedback from other forum members who have had direct experience with this product. I am most interested in the performance as a standalone DAC. I currently have a DacMagic and am looking for possible upgrade paths to bring up the performance of my digital front-end (Roku M1000 fed Apple lossless files) a notch or two. Related equipment is a Pioneer SX-A6-J Elite 2 Ch Receiver and speakers are KEF xQ10 standmounts. The iPhone digital dock is attractive since I signed up for the MOG streaming service. I had Rhapsody but so far the MOG experience is better. Plus MOG allows the ability to download high quality (320k MP3) content direct to the iPhone for off-line playback. The idea of being able to have the SA8004 DAC decode these 320k files is VERY appealing as it would further leverage the use of the MOG service. Last, but not least, I have never had a SACD player but I must admit to ability to play (choice) titles in this format for critical listening seems like a bonus. Any feedback on this product is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance