See Ron, you can always get a good variety of opinions on the forum. :) I recently did some comparisons between SB3/Touch/Transporter analog outs, and the Transporter genuinely does sound noticeably better than the other units in a variety of system configurations. This was also evident on speakers in the "less than $5000" category.
The OP (Ron) already said he would: - "never be running an external DAC"; - be currently using an Onkyo/Paradigm combo (Ron is right, these are actualy decent mid-range pieces); - possibly be upgrading amp/speakers; - be actively considering the Transporter (i.e. wasn't priced-out by it). So if you simply want the best possible sound via analog outputs from among these units, the Transporter is your choice IMO and does noticeably outpace the others (Touch included). If you are going to eventually upgrade your amp/speakers/both, the Transporter's improvement will then become even more noticeable (assuming Transporters rarely break after warranty expiration - cross your fingers clibeb). [Note: Very high-quality active speakers are also a nice proposition here!] If you eventually do upgrade your amp, I must agree that getting a good amp with balanced inputs will bring out even still further improvement from the Transporter's analog outputs (balanced XLR). I also concur that better speakers will nearly always give the biggest bang-for-buck upgrade, but once again, most especially with upgraded source/amp components. If you do buy a Transporter, I most definitely agree with those suggesting $2000 may be too much - given that it is a niche EOL product and Logitech is now concerned with its new generation products. Prices at/around $1400 (new) are available for Transporters, $1300 during intermittent sales, and less of course for used units. I personally would not recommend just simply forking out the top retail price of $2000. :) Also, since Transporters may not be available too much longer, then it does make sense to obtain one while they are available. If you do buy a Transporter and want to sell it later, resale value on Transporters seems to remain healthy on eBay/Audiogon/etc. I have no illusions of convincing everybody - I just wanted to share my reasons, that's all. :) -- NewBuyer ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NewBuyer's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=7862 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=79496 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
