No, I'm not saying that the analog outs are better than a good external DAC. I'm running the I2S stream inside the SB3 into my own DIY DAC which is sending a master clock back into the SB3 and reclocking the I2S data just before the DAC chips. The output of this DAC is going directly to my DIY power amp. I adjusted the input sensitivity of the amp so the output of the DAC at full signal is as loud as I will eve want a transient etc.
With this setup going direct from the DAC to the amp sounds better than going through the preamp. I am NOT running the volume control down in the tens or anything like that, its usually running in the 30s, under those conditions the dgradation from not being at full volume is less than the degradation of the preamp. So basically I think I'm saying that the degradation in sound from using the digital volume control is not very much, its definately there, but using an external preamp is even worse, even a very good one. As to the analog outs direct, yes they are not as good as going through my own DAC (which cost MANY times what the squeezebox cost just in parts), but they are actually pretty good. Being fed the external very low jitter clock actually significantly improves the sound over the stock unit. Other analog out mods can bring that up even more. Its still not as good as the synchronous relocked external DAC system, but actually very good, much better than ANY other digital system I've had in my own system. Even straight out of the box stock, with only a linear supply it surpasses most of the other digital stuff I have. I'm very impressed with what SD has managed to achive for such a small price in a massed produced device, way better sound than it has any right to be. The thing that really drew mew to this device was the architecture, they have designed it so it has significantly lower jitter than anything else anywhere near its price point, and the architecture is such that it can be made even lower with better parts without having to change the basic architecture. (which of course is what they have done with the transporter) Thats not true of other devices. Of course jitter is not everything, but it is a major part of the whole, if you don't get that right you will be limited by what you can do with the rest. John S. -- JohnSwenson ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JohnSwenson's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5974 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27275 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
