How good of a DAC is the Logitech Transporter

When the Transporter was released, 'miracle' DAC chip maker AKM already had a better DAC chip available.

If hi-rez playback is a concern, the Transporter is limited to 24/96. There is no indication that Logitech will upgrade it or release a derivative product in the future.

thanks for the tip Datsystem, yes, i was actually also thinking about that, i mean the 24/96 limit, but then again (1) how widely available is music with higher than 24/96? (2) i can always purchase another new transport/streamer to go with the Transporter's built-in DAC (via digital inputs?) when higher than 24/96 is supported, which i don't think there is yet. the very latest Squeezebox Touch that was only released late last year is only 24/96.....well, i guess there isn't such thing as completely future proof in this hobby, the best you could do is to get the best at the time and then enjoy it for as long as you can, and that is what i am planning to do :)

i went ahead and bought the Logitech Transporter from overseas, will report back once i have got it and once i have had a chance to try it in my system, which is ATC integrated SIA2-150 and ATC monitors SCM40's with Chord Epic Super Twin speaker cables and Monster 1000M RCA interconnects (i can only hope they are good synergy!)

cheers
raymond

(2) i can always purchase another new transport/streamer to go with the Transporter's built-in DAC (via digital inputs?) when higher than 24/96 is supported

Yes, but the wireless transmission in the Transporter is asynchronous so the master clock jitter the AKM DAC see is very low, unlike the S/PDIF input where the master clock comes from the digital receiver and can be 100 times more, at least.

Since I believe AKM DACs are really special (and I use them in all of my products), there is no doubt that the AK4396 DAC in the Transporter is nice (although inferior to the latest 32 bit AKM top-line DACs, IMHO!). Of course, it is all implementation, so "everything matters". And we can't really blame AKM for introducing much better 32 bit DAC solutions after the Transporter was released.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Alex Peychev
www.aplhifi.com

Thanks Alex!

So are you suggesting that I should use the wireless on the Transporter if and when possible and it's always better than other types of connections?

Cheers
Raymond

Hi Raymond,

Yes, that is correct; the clock jitter coming from the S/PDIF receiver (all digital inputs) is very high compared to the low jitter clocks used for the wireless.

IMO, this is the major reason why many prefer audio stream from their computer/server against a CD transport. Of course, IMO again, a CD transport can sound better than computer audio, but that is another story. :-)

Best,
Alex Peychev