Do you need a DAC for internet radio only?

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....

Dogmcd,
Is the DAC a big improvement for the internet source as well as the CD's?

To my ears, yes it is, as long as the internet source has a high enough bit stream. If you're listening to stations that are broadcasting at about 64kbps or below, then quite honestly, nothing will help much. However, when you get into higher speed transmission (especially ones that are at 128kbps...), then you're practically getting CD quality sounds, and I've found that a DAC is the way to go. The nice thing about the Squeezebox software is that it shows you the bit rate of channels as you browse through them, which makes life pretty easy. I also keep a listing of most of the major internet radio providers in my favorites on my PC as well just so I can go through and browse things and then go to the Squeezebox and dial up what I'm wanting to hear.

Make sure you get a decent cable between Squeezebox and DAC as well. I'm a big fan of PNF Audio cables and have both their coax and toslink. Both work great from the Squeezebox to DAC. Now, there may be some depedancies on the rest of your system, but if you have even a good budget rig I think you'll notice an improvement in sound quality. What I hear is better tonality and much improved imaging with a noticeable increase in the "air" around instruments, making them sound much more real. Bottom line is that a DAC in the chain is definitely a plus IMHO!

Have fun and enjoy your music!

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Drubin, if you like jazz, there are killer stations in Switzerland, Spain, Japan, Brazil and France that are broadcast over the web that sound fantastic. Lots more jazz stations around the globe that are available to you. Just do a web search of "internet jazz radio stations."
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