logitech transporter vs. Squeezebox+PS Audio DLIII

I have the SB3 and a Lavry DA-10 DAC which I settled on a couple of years back. I also auditioned a Transporter at that time. The choice of the SB3/Lavry was mainly cost driven; it was about $1,000 cheaper since I already had the SB3. However, there was very little difference between the two approaches.

Right now it's not too hard to find Transporters new for about $1300. Had they been at that price a couple of years ago I would have likely gone with a Transporter.

However, there is a third option upcoming. The Slimdevices "Touch" is due out in about a month and a lot of reports from the beta testers have been extremely complimentary about the analog output of this unit. I've got one on order with the intention of comparing it against the SB3/Lavry combo to see if they are in the same ballpark soundwise.

I thought the combination of the SB+DL-III sounded better than the Transporter when playing standard 16/44. Keep in mind though, that your SB device is limited to 24/48, while the Transporter will support up to 24/96. The new "Touch" will support up to 24/96.

If it were me, I would get the Touch ($590) and the DL-III (for $500) and save a few bucks over the Transporter. The Transporter sounded a bit thin compared to the DL-III and the DL-III displayed a bigger soundstage

I would get the Touch ($590)

Not sure where you got your price. My understanding the official price is $299.

Not sure where you got your price. My understanding the official price is $299.

Wow! That's the way to go then...$800 and you'll have a killer server. I wasn't sure how much the Touch cost, so I went to the SB website - I saw $590 listed at the top of the page near the "Touch".....I just assumed.

The Transporter is a really cool device and it does sound great (comparatively speaking). The fact that you'll be able to get at least the same sonic fidelity (and to my ears, even better fidelity) via the DL-III/Touch at a considerable savings makes this a no-brainer (and you'll have hi-rez capability up to 24/96). With the savings that you'll enjoy, you might want to look for a used Stage IV-Cullen-Modded-DL-III (it sounds even better than the stock DL-III, and you can easily hear the difference between it and the Transporter). You should be able to get the Stage-IV DL-III and Touch for roughly the same price you could find a used Transporter (maybe less - $1,100 range….).
Let us know what you end up doing.
Happy New Year