Do you need a DAC for internet radio only?

I have had no problems at all (knock on wood, knock on wood) with my SB Duet. You can see from the SB forum however, that there are a lot of documented occurrences and issues - especially with the older software versions. My Duet has been reliable since the get-go (installed 6 months ago). I don't listen to Internet radio that frequently, but when I do, I don't really have any issues. I do recall a time or two when I experienced some “rebuffering.” I do believe a lot of this has to do with the Internet server (product/provider, router and bandwidth limitations). If you have good steady bandwidth via DSL or Cable Broadband, fed through a good router (at least G series for Wi-Fi), then you should be okay. I will be replacing my old B series router with an N series when I install a NAS, but for now, even my G Wi-Fi router has performed excellently (that router is in the same room as my Duet/stereo).

I think this is a good time to watch for new products and do some thorough research before pulling the trigger on anything. The industry has embraced music/video servers and there are some exiting products in the works (i.e.: the Perfect Wave DAC/Bridge server). You can bet that there will be other reputable companies introducing new high-end server solutions. Be patient…(ha…ha..ha!).

What I like about Internet radio is I can listen to the best jazz stations in the country, the best classical stations, and Celtic Sojourn. HD or not, the local market doesn't have enough to offer.

What I like about Internet radio is I can listen to the best jazz stations in the country, the best classical stations, and Celtic Sojourn. HD or not, the local market doesn't have enough to offer.

And not just in "the country" - anywhere in the world. There are some great classical stations in Budapest, and some great jazz stations in the UK. I love some of the Irish stations. Combine this amazing feature with the limitless possibilities of downloading lossless HD files, or ripping your entire catalog of CDs to build a music library the likes of which you only used to dream about. Now, access all of this while sitting in your reference chair. You only have to get up to refill your drink. It's too cool.

I use a Music Hall 25.2 dac with my Squeezebox classic strictly for streaming from Pandora and Rhapsody and it has added more weight and definition to the mp3 streams.

I love my Squeezebox and use it to serve up all of my ripped CD's from my music server and for listening to internet radio. As far as internet radio goes, if you find stations that broadcast at 128kbps (and there are lots of them), the quality is actually very good.

I have found that running the Squeezebox output through an external DAC is a big improvement over the internal one. Not sure whether that's due to better output circuitry or just cleaner bit transfer, but an outboard DAC definitely improves the performance. I've used a Musical Fidelity X-DACv3 and a Cambridge DAC-Magic both with great results. I have an MHDT Paradisea+ on the way that I'm going to give a whirl; probably be putting the DACMagic up for sale unless the Paradisea turns out to be a bad match with my system, but I don't expect that.

I've also found that using the "hybrid" connection method for the Squeezebox seems to give the best results. This is where the Squeezebox itself is connected via hardwire cat5 cable to your router and only the remote is wireless. Just seems to be more reliable, especially if there's lots of activity going on with your home network. That may not be practical for some folks, just what I've found to work best in my situation....