I'm considering one of the Squeezbox products and want to know which will give me the best sound quality via analog outputs (Transporter excluded). I've read in other threads that "on paper" the DAC in the Duet seems to be inferior but I couldn't find much about real world comparisons between the two. On the official squeezebox forums it seems people are equivocal if there's any difference between the two. I'd appreciate any input from people who have actually compared the two directly.

I'm considering one of the Squeezbox products and want to know which will give me the best sound quality via analog outputs (Transporter excluded). I've read in other threads that "on paper" the DAC in the Duet seems to be inferior but I couldn't find much about real world comparisons between the two. On the official squeezebox forums it seems people are equivocal if there's any difference between the two. I'd appreciate any input from people who have actually compared the two directly.

I have both, and even though I normally run both units through an external DAC, when I first got the Duet I tested the Wolfson against the Burr-Brown and preferred the Classic (well, I have a 3).

That being said, the Duet remote far outweighs the sonic difference in the DACs, so I would only recommend the SB Classic if you intend to pair it with a Duet Controller.

CD

I have both and while, on paper, the Classic uses the (some say) superior Burr-Brown DACs vs. the Wolfson Dacs, I honestly couldn't hear ANY difference between the two, either via their digital outputs feeding my (now sold) Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista 21 DAC, or via their analog outputs directly feeding my Musical Fidelity A5 integrated and Gallo Reference 3 speakers. Ultimately, the form factor of the Duet's receiver and of course it's superior remote led me to use the Duet exclusively in my 2 channel system, with the Classic relegated to my HT system.

Both sound equally fantastic, so good in fact that I sold my MF TriVista DAC since I didn't hear a noticeble difference when using it. I say choose whichever has the most pleasing user interface to you, since their difference in sound is negligible.