blessingx

Wow, that didn't take long. I know his was held up at customs for a bit so I assume it wasn't in his hands long. Wonder how many day(s)? Would be curious to get his input. I've held off making comments as A) I've barely been around the house for several weeks and given the DAC about five hours of listen, maybe and wanted to have the time to give a more detailed reaction. Since that isn't going to happen soon... It's a little difficult to do a comparative review as there isn't much in the price range and even above I do not have much at my house at the moment. Thus I only A/Bed against the Squeezebox itself and the Pico (at high/2 o'clock). Using both USB and coaxial (fed by Squeezebox), and all the equipment in sig (a least quickly and apologies for that's all the time I've got recently) I'd describe the overall sound as both smooth and impactful. Audiomagus sales pitch uses 'an analog sound' phrase in relationship to digital issues and I think this is quite accurate. If you're a detail freak the magiDAC may not be for you. Certainly the Pico wins there and is overall a superior DAC. It of course is nearly twice the magiDACs intro price (though also includes an amp) and limited to USB input. From memory the Lavry DA10 is also, but we're now talking 3-4x the price. The Squeezebox on the other had was a bit confusing at first. Initially there was an input bleed on my amp which made a comparison difficult, but once that was sorted out it was clear the magiDAC addition was worth it. Although decreasing the soundstage width a bit which may be an issue for some, it moved the midrange forward and filled in the bottom end. Things came alive. I've said some of this before, but decay on piano is quite nice. Vocals intimate. Placement good. Overall a pretty organic presentation which leads to the analog description. Although my time hasn't been long I don't get the impression this is will be a short-term impress. Dynamic range and other tests will have to be in the future. I've always felt the Squeezebox 3/Classic was undervalued as a DAC - again taking price/performance into account, which at least to me in especially necessary with DACs. I certainly would recommend the magiDAC addition to the Squeezebox over certain similarly priced power mods to it (if using the analog outs). I know most here have primary setups quite a bit above the likely magiDACs target population and even its performance, but I'd recommend you consider for secondary setups or for those starting out. I certainly haven't heard a better $300 DAC and have heard worse above $500. I'm fairly inarticulate in reviewing to begin with, but especially with DACs. I likely will have the magiDAC at Icarium's meet so hopefully we'll have a few more impressions soon. Note: This unit had the clock upgrade. I ordered two units and one had a grounding issue and will go back, but the other, used for testing, did not.

I suppose instead of having to disconnect the cable you could disable USB output on the fly? Still far from the best solution, but possibly other option. From their site (and the first audio one I've seen use Geocities ):

Anyone else kinda excited? Logitech Squeezebox Boom pops up on Dutch site - Engadget

Weeeeellll, ignore this whole thread. I'm just getting back to testing and it seems there was a bit of a bleed between inputs on the srm-007t. Just retested with an Extreme Platinum, which had a larger bleed, thus more noticeable, which showed the problem. I'd place the SB3 fed magiDAC over the Squeezebox solo now. Will give more time (I've been insanely busy) for more detailed analysis of the magiDAC, but for now forget the whole Squeezebox bottleneck theory.

I kinda like to be impressed.

Contemplating a source specifically for a SRM-007/Lambda Pro/Sig setup. Looking at the normal suspects - DAC1, DA100 Sig and DA10, which I had previously. Would be used with a computer (with USB & optical) or through a Squeezebox. Haven't used a dedicated CDP for years. Does anyone have suggestions otherwise or comments on that trilogy of choices? Find the Stello interesting, but reports of a darker signature may not make create the best synergy. Anyway appreciative for your advice. May get a chance to try, but looking for longer term impressions, especially with electrostatics. Figure budget $800-1,000. And no that doesn't extend to 'twice that.'

Hmmm my experience is opposite of the two of you. Rarely problems with VLC with MP4s, though there can be a ton of issues with encoding. Maybe it's DRMed and you have to play in iTunes/QT?

x2 on VLC. Or try changing extension to .mp4 and see if you have better luck with your player of choice. .m4v may mean it's encrypted, but just as likely to mean it's .mp4 with a iPod friendly extension.

x2. I used the W5K with Pico exclusively for a bit and I think it was a great bang for buck combo comparatively. Have a W1K coming this week and hope for similar results.

Dan, if there's still a spot left open my weekends have swapped around so I'm actually available next Sat. Can bring some Stax. Just let me know.

Sorry for confusing post. I should keep pre-6am posts to a minimum. Yes, I mean a bottleneck as a transport. The Stax 007t has a couple inputs so it's easy to compare the SB3 (as source) to the SB3 fed magicDAC or SB3 (as source) to the magicDAC off USB. I have a couple magiDACs and Squeezeboxes so perhaps I'll do a SB3 fed magiDAC v. magiDAC off USB test too. I should wait to post as these are only very initial impressions, but I've barely been around my house the last three weeks and my 1 hour impressions (after burn-in) were magiDAC USB > Squeezebox as source > magiDAC fed by Squeezebox. I may change my mind over time, or this could be problem with coaxial processing, but the fact that I had that previous Lavry experience, where I seemed to prefer the DA10 fed optically from the MacBook to fed optically from the Squeezebox (though there were a ton of variables there, including memory) made me wonder. None of this is remotely definitive, hence my question mark in the title. And for those wondering the SB3s volume is max, using the most recent firmware, using decent cables, etc. In the end this may become moot for me as the Pico beats them all, but at the magiDACs current price, and especially for its pre-order price that put it even $70 cheaper, the magiDAC off USB competed favorably with the Pico if cost is considered. The Pico does offer superior detail, soundstage width and overall balance though... at least in my 1 hour test. JP, I may make it to the meet, but I've been away so long I'm just craving a weekend of nothingness and that weekend looks the best possibility. It seems crazy to say I prefer sleep/vegetation to a meet, but that's how I'm feeling.

I've often commented on how undervalued the Squeezebox 3/Classic is as a DAC. I've really thought, and still do, that it performs quite nicely for its price even if you forget it's streaming capabilities. Part of that conclusion though was based on DAC comparisons when fed through the SB3. In fact I sold my Lavry DA10, when after a comparison, I could no longer justify its cost. Before boxing for shipment though I decided to give it one last go fed optically from a MacBook, recreating what I lived with for a year - a DAC/amp single-box combo with balanced HD580s out the back. It sounded wonderful, but so many variables I didn't even think about the Squeezebox (after all bit-perfect 0s and 1s in to bit-perfect 0s and 1s out...). However recently I've picked up a couple Aeolus magiDACs and again I much prefer them fed USB to coaxial from the Squeezebox. In fact I prefer the Squeezebox solo to the magiDAC fed, but magiDAC to either if run off USB (there's a volume adjustment to compensate for, but that's easy enough to correct). Which of course has me thinking back to the Lavry scenerio which I never did, but should have, A/Bed w/wo the Squeezebox in the chain. Although I have a couple Squeezeboxes, a USB relay or USB thru CAT5 extender are possibilities to get everywhere in my housing situation. So I'm thinking about that, but wanted to ask - has anyone else found the Squeezebox to be a bottleneck?

Anyone have experience with the Sewell 16ft extender or recommended another cheap alternative? Debating about switching to a USB DAC solution for a largish space (instead of Squeezebox).

iTunes to manage (with help from Doug's Applescripts) and playback (shared duties with FrontRow) when connected. SqueezeCenter/Squeezebox for playback when not. ALAC mostly.

iTunes to manage (with help from Doug's Applescripts) and playback (shared duties with FrontRow) when connected. SqueezeCenter/Squeezebox for playback when not. ALAC mostly.

For another sign of technological and cultural changes, the first signs of todays LA quake seemed to start with Twitter posts and then spread to traditional media. Here is an example.

Friend in town, so finally getting to this. If you're a fan of Mono/Stereo I think you'll really like. Already have a feeling this this going to be growing on me.

In case anyone here is interested, the dual charger PowerDock is significantly on sale over at Buy.com. If you've got a couple iPods it may be worth it. More info from Griffin here.

See here.

If you're going to make a purchase now go for that discount through the Apple.com educational store (look up a local school) and qualify for a free iPod touch. Otherwise I'd wait for a bit.

If you're a 'Mats or Westerberg fan, or simply interested where where music distribution may be headed, see here and here.

I got mine for $65 (on sale & after rebate). True, they don't show up on sale often. Dell has them for $76 though.

... or at least have a few of us over for a Bay Area Balancing Act Meet. BABAM!

I definitely agree you need a scroll wheel (or equivalent), which is the same for mice too, but those models aren't the only options. The before mentioned Expert Mouse trackball is but one other with it, and in fact is even better as you're not limited to a single finger scroll (as the scroll wheel surrounds the ball and you can use any finger).

Yes, it's slightly more plasticy than the old Model Ms, but that's only in comparison, and it definitely has the feel/good resistance and is very tough. I expect it to last a decade. In fact if you want a little closer to the old Model M, their Customizer is the equivalent (same as SpaceSaver but larger in size). They bought the rights from IBM, so this is the closest you're going to get to currently produced keyboards. If you note you're a Mac user when buying they even supply extra keys for you to pop off and replace the Windows keys. I love mine and would recommend to anyone. Just expect lots of noise.