Goal: Stream lossless FLACs from my PC to my living room home theater and audio system.

System: Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver as pre/pro - to give perspective on the quality to non-Yamaha people, it cost me $1700 two years ago when it was released. Pretty mid-range audiophile I guess. The DAC is a Burr Brown 24-bit 192 kHz. I also power the speakers with a Rotel amp.

Question: Will there be an audio quality difference between getting the Squeezebox Duet and running a digital line out to the Yamaha's DAC, versus getting the Squeezebox Transporter and using the Transporter's DAC? In other words, given that I have a pretty good Yamaha DAC already, is it worth it to pay up for the Transporter just for the Transporter's DAC? Or are there other key differences in sound quality or functionality from the Transporter versus the Duet?

Thanks,
Brian

Goal: Stream lossless FLACs from my PC to my living room home theater and audio system.

System: Yamaha RX-V2700 receiver as pre/pro - to give perspective on the quality to non-Yamaha people, it cost me $1700 two years ago when it was released. Pretty mid-range audiophile I guess. The DAC is a Burr Brown 24-bit 192 kHz. I also power the speakers with a Rotel amp.

Question: Will there be an audio quality difference between getting the Squeezebox Duet and running a digital line out to the Yamaha's DAC, versus getting the Squeezebox Transporter and using the Transporter's DAC? In other words, given that I have a pretty good Yamaha DAC already, is it worth it to pay up for the Transporter just for the Transporter's DAC? Or are there other key differences in sound quality or functionality from the Transporter versus the Duet?

Thanks,
Brian

Yes, there are other parts in the signal stream of the Transporter that would likely make it sounds better than the (Duet) Receiver's digital out to your Yamaha AVR. But then you're not comparing apples to apples, are you? Or, at the very least, you're comparing $2,000 apples to $150 apples. How much better, and of course that is all VERY subjective anyway, and whether it is worth 13 times the cost is going to have to be up to you and your ears (wallet?).

FWIW, I have a lot of experience with these units, and I am on record many times as advocating the Receiver and a good, external DAC if you must, instead of a Transporter. Buy the $150 (Duet) Receiver and hook up the digital out to your Yamaha. If you like the sound, consider yourself lucky, and don't worry about the nth degree of detail you might be able to wring out of the Transporter for an extra $1850. If, like me, you find that the units can be a little strident and soft in the bottom-end...only in hi-end, revealing systems...then an external DAC might be in order. I would say you could spend anywhere between ~$500-1k, still come out ahead of the $2k Transporter, and have at least as good, if not better SQ.

.02,

CD

Thanks. I definitely want the best sound. I have a separate Rotel amp, but I always thought that diminishing returns would set in with dedicated processors, DACs, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. If I were to get an external DAC, is that something I'd use for my Denon DVD/CD player as well, or just for the Squeezebox Receiver?

Thanks. I definitely want the best sound. I have a separate Rotel amp, but I always thought that diminishing returns would set in with dedicated processors, DACs, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. If I were to get an external DAC, is that something I'd use for my Denon DVD/CD player as well, or just for the Squeezebox Receiver?

If you felt like it improved the sound over your Denon's sound (or the Denon's digital out into your Yamaha's DAC). Again, my recommendation is not to assume you won't like the sound of the (Duet) Receiver on its own. But if you try it, at $150, you have nothing to lose vs. the Transporter; you have up to $1850 to try and get its sound to a point that is pleasurable to you, and I am almost certain you can do it.

Good luck,

CD