Looking for a DAC for the Squeezebox Touch

Well I'm back again looking for a DAC in the $1000 range. I tried the W4S DAC 1 and wasn't totally impressed. It was connected to the dac using a Black Cat coax cable. It was a bit dry and grainy in my system when compared to playing a cd thru the Oppo 95. I'm using an upgraded power supply with the SB and an external USB hard drive. My system also includes the Classe SSP-600 and CA-5100 driving the Focal 1027be.

I recently read an interesting review of the Burson DA-160 from 6moons. From what I read, the Burson is musical and analogue-like. I'm also considering the Rega DAC.

Take a look at the Audio Note. A 1.1 in your range or a 2.1 at slightly more.

They pair great with the Squeezebox and offer as much of what's valued in analog as I've heard in a digital front end.

Ronrags,

I am also after a DAC to pair with my Touch, but funds don't allow to make a move yet. However, I am very interested in the Metrum Octave. It's just under $1k. Has only a coax and an optical input (dealbreaker for some). It's a non-oversampling DAC, with a totally different topography compared to most DACs. Take a look at the 6moons review, and from the Metrum website you can also access a HiFi Critic review. Natural, organic sound is what most people report (reviews and users). I'm really interested in this one.

BTW, Steve at Empirical Audio is working on a new device designed to be placed between the Touch and a DAC, that allegedly handles jitter from the Touch and should be an improvement. That's another device that caught my interest.

Please keep us posted. As said, I'm after a DAC for the Touch too!

I haven't heard the Burson DAC, but I own the Rega DAC. Not a hint of dryness or graininess. Not saying its the best $1k DAC to everyone's ears, but it's easily the best I've heard.