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SB duet dig to theta casanova vs transporter dac

i currently use a squeezebox duet digital out to dac in my theta casanova. i am considering a change to the transporter but from what i have read, the digital out will be little upgrade if any. i am wondering if the dac in the transporter will be better than the dac in my theta. things have changed quite a bit since the casanova was developed and i would guess the dacs in less expensive pieces outperform dacs from earlier 2000's by a large margin. the other option would be getting a different dac and keeping my duet. thoughts on how to improve my digital source in the most efficient way would be greatly appreciated.
richard_stacy
richard_stacy OP
686 posts
 
i guess my question was too specific! anyone...?
cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
me thinks newer dac (transporter or outboard) will be better (sounding) assuming you have a resolving system, good cables, etc)
2chnlben
595 posts
 
One thing to consider is that the Transporter will play sample rates up to 192/24 natively, whereas the Duet (and other SB devices) will only play up to 48/24 natively. So with the Duet, you are only capable of feeding your Theta 48/24. Higher sample rates are what separate Redbook from SACD, DVD Audio (and beyond). This combined with new measures for clocking and reducing jitter is what will effectively narrow the digital analog gap (and potentially eliminate the gap altogether).

Something else to consider, is that the Transporter will set you back close to two grand and right now PS Audio is running a Trade-Up special on their Perfect Wave devices (PWT and PWD). They will give you the original purchase price of your current DAC/transport (up to $1,000), which means you can get the PWD for $2,000. In case you weren’t aware, there is going to be a "Bridge" product available sometime later this year that will transform the PWD into a music server. I suggest you read up on this exciting new product. To my ears, the PS Audio DL-III DAC sounds better than the Transporter. The PWD is way beyond the DL-III DAC. These are exciting times for digital.
richard_stacy OP
686 posts
 
thanks guys!

i do not have hi rez files so that is not an issue for now. i have read about the ps audio pieces and they do seem impressive. i think they are quite pricey. i still struggle with the same issue, would it just be better to invest in a better dac (then of course...which!)? i am not convinced that there is much difference in how the information is moved, more so how it is converted to analog and what happens after that point. these are challenging thoughts to me and key to moving forward with digital. i do feel some what stuck, like any change would just be a guess now anyway...but i am also convinced this is the only area that really needs honed in my system...i am very frustrated!!
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