[ebag4]

I have upgraded everything in my system from the preamp (actually a Dodd DIY Buffer) out, I am now looking at my source.  I am currently running an Egreat M34a Network Media Tank using MPD as my player for my FLAC files.  The NMT runs via glass fiber into my Havana DAC with a WE396a tube.  I hope to be test driving an EE DAC in the next week or so.  If I like the EE I will pick that up, that leaves the source.

I have considered the Touch, I previously owned a Bolder analog modded SB3 that I liked quite a bit, however I sold it to move the the Havana.  What I don't like about the touch is that I have to have a separate PC running for it to be at it's best.  If I have to have a PC running then I think I would prefer to simply use the PC as the source and skip the Touch.  I am considering a Mac Mini as I have read a lot of positive threads on the Mac as a source.  I am also considering a Linux PC, I like the way MPD works in my system and the low overhead of the Linux solutions.

So what do those of you that had heard or worked with these solutions think?  Is there another option I should be looking at?  I could go with another NMT but I am not certan that is the best solution, my current NMT will be moved to the HT so that I can use it's video functonality as well as the audio.

Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Best,
Ed

[eclein]

It looks to me that all of your options include a PC of some kind...I personally would go SB Touch to EE DAC in a hearbeat, the EE DAC made my head spin around awhile back at a rave, and the Touch is getting strong reviews..just my thought!!
 Best,
another Ed

[lcrim]

Whatever you do, the music files need a place to live. 

I couldn't disagree more about using any method that doesn't transport the music as data through an ethernet interface and do the translation @ the playback environment and keep all the mechanical and electrical noise elsewhere.
I just got back an analog modded Touch from Wayne @ Bolder.  With the Soundcheck software mods, the sound is truly stunning and it has 24/96 capability.  Price was a huge consideration for me and I can't find another method for PC based playback that is anywhere close in cost for the quality.  You can get several of these units setup for the bloated price of one high end USB cable.  When a software solution to turn off the screen (electrical) noise is found, it will be difficult to find anything that competes at any price.

[rklein]

I am in a very similar situation.  I am currently waiting for my new amp and pre from Blair at Nightshade audio.  In addition, I will be moving from my Bolder modded SB3 going to a modded Zhalou DAC as well.  While in Colorado visiting my brother, I had the chance to listen to Mike Galusha's system.  I was mainly interested in hearing his Abbey speakers.  His current setup has a small fanless computer running Foobar going through a modded M2Tech HiFace to a DIY tricked out Buffalo II DAC(complete with Paul Hynes regs, etc.).  IT SOUNDED FANTASTIC!! I believe he has an article somewhere on AC through Enjoy The Music, where he compared various setups and found that running Foobar 2000(??) through a HiFace using BNC connections with a coax cable was the best.

I also am considering the EE DAC along with the W4S DACS 1 & 2.  Based on what I have heard and read, I will be taking the Logitech Touch out of the equation.  There are many interfaces you can use such as what you are currently using, Foobar, JRiver, etc.

In talking with Wayne at Bolder the Touch is a very good unit.  Not to take business away from Wayne(have talked with him about other mods), I really like what Mike Galusha had setup and believe me...with a good DAC and correct implementation, you will be extemely happy with the sound quality.

Randy

[rklein]

One more thing...   the Touch downsamples the HRx recordings.  Now true, there are only about 15 recordings out there, mostly classical music.  However, I heard some of these recordings at Mike Galusha's and we did a blind test with him running redbook, 24/96, and HRx of the same artist.  I chose the HRx each time.

Randy

[ebag4]

Thanks for the replies guys.  I should also mention that I have a 3G XP PC in a utility space with ethernet and USB run into my listening space (utilized when I had the SB3) that I can use as well.

I agree that I would not want a noisy PC in the listening space but from what I have read the Mac Mini is essentially quiet.  The NMT I am running is fanless with no moving parts other than the HDD my library is on.  The HDD is a WD Green drive and is so quiet I have to put my ear next to it to hear it, so no noise issues there.

I had forgotten about the M2Tech HiFace, thanks for bringing that up.  If I can run the BNC terminated coax 15 feet without degrading the sound that might be a viable soultion and it would keep me from purchasing another PC.

Keep the ideas oming guys, the wheels are turning!

Best,
Ed

[lcrim]

To clarify, the Touch is an extraordinary bargain and sounds even better when used in a manner to support sound quality.  Running wired (ethernetT and running the script to not launch the wlan card at boot as well as doing the conversion from flac to PCM at the server contributes to playback quality.

Removal of the electostatic capacitors on the analog outputs (part of the Bolder Cables analog mod) makes a contribution.  There is a good possibility that the power to the display can be shut off via software.  It has been shut off by some by removing it, which I don't recommend but the sound quality is further enhanced.  The device was designed to function w/ the internal DAC and that's an advantage as well.

[ebag4]

Larry, do you know if the modded Touch's analog output voltage is reduced as it was on the SB3?  I will likely stay with an external DAC but I would still like to know in case I decide to start looking that direction.

Best,
Ed

[lcrim]

Ed:
No the output is not reduced by the Bolder analog mod.  All those things I mentiomed above plus a few others (good quality linear power supply) should be seen as value adds to playback quality.

[Wayne1]

FWIW: The DUET and the Touch both use DAC chips with integrated output op-amps. There is no need to bypass the circuit as was done in the SB2 and SB3. The output level and phase is unchanged in the modded unit.

I do have to say that the analog modded Touch does sound VERY good. The only DAC that I have heard that sounds better is the Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC. At least in my system 

[lcrim]

Adding and configuring the file via SSH that prevents the wlan card from ever loading makes a significant improvement and it helps both analog and digital output.  You must run a network cable to the unit, but thats a given anyway.
You should give it a try, it doesn't cost anything.

[ebag4]

Larry/Wayne,
Thanks for the info on the Touch mod, much appreciated.

Any other source input, c'mon guys, I know you have opinions!

Best,
Ed

[jrebman]

Ed,

I have been using the Tranquility dac fed directly from an Asus EEE box PC (which does have a fan, but is basically silent) with the DB Audio Labs Essential USB cable, and the sound is absolutely stunning.  I ditched the stock Asus psu as it was quite noisey and replaced it with a much quieter switcher and I hear no noise whatsoever now.  I use a locally connected WD Passport Elite drive, have all the PC
s extra hardware and interfaces turned off and am using the AQVox ASIO driver, XP, and Foobar for software.

I hope to upgrade to the high-res db audio labs dac when it becomes avaialable, and then I will most likely switch over to my Alix single board linux box with MPD, fed by a oversize linear regulated psu, and will probably stick with that.  Mind you, I really can't fault the current setup in that it plays redbook as close to vinyl as you're ever likely to experience, but I want high-res and I want to get my alix board in place as it should be much cleaner than even the most optimized Windows or Mac computer.  If you're using a linux box, the alix board has no fan, no disc drive, no keyboard or video circuitry, just ethernet and usb ports.  I'll also be stripping down XP using NLite to see just how far I can get a windows box to go, though even at this point it's truly hard to imagine any better sound.

The tranquility is an awesome dac and right up there with some of the best I've heard, but could never possibly afford.

When I get the new dac, the Tranquility will go either in the living room system or in the headphone rig in the bedroom as I hope to hold on to it for a very long time.

Hope this helps,

Jim

[Turnandcough]

I'm sold on streamers.
I was waiting to get my hands on a Touch as an upgrade from my SB3. However with the new Marantz NA7004 and Cambridge Audio NP30 on the way(both selling for about $800) I'm not sure what my next streamer will be.