Need Advice On A Network Music Player


I want to get into Hi Rez music downloads and need a player to make that possible. My initial research has identified the following as serious possibilities, but I can find no comparison reviews or anything to clearly differentiate them:



Logitech Squeeze Box Touch - $234.00

Cambridge Audio - Sonata NP30 - $599.00

Marantz - NA7004 - Network Audio Player - $799.99

Bryston - BDP-1 - Digital Media Player - $2195.00

My real concern is identifying what gives the best bang for the buck and still provides high quality sound output. The only purpose that I will be using this for is Hi Rez music downloads from HD Tracks, and some higher res music via USB thumb drives (such as the Complete Beatles Collection). I've read very positive reviews of all of these, but again, nothing comparing them in any way, so its extremely hard to gauge.



The only two concerns are that I have used Squeezebox software previously (when I owned a Transporter) and found it more difficult to use than I wanted to deal with, and hated the connection problems getting to their site. That's a negative to buying equipment from them. Also, over at the Hi Rez forum, they have many threads about how you have to spend about $400.00 modifying the Touch to get optimal sound. As far as the Bryston, as expensive as it is, Stereophile noted that the sound quality from it's USB input was not as good, and that would be a great concern for me.



I have Bryston BDA-1 DAC available for use with whatever I purchase. Any thoughts, recommendations, and expertise would be appreciated. I'm completely new to this game and could use the help. Thanks.
nightfall
I own the SBT and the Marantz NA 7004. The SBT is a great value at $300. I use it with a PS Audio Digital Link 3 Dac. I use an Ethernet connection so it had no network recognition issues.
The Marantz sounds a lot better playing high Rez files but has major reliability issues that I have detailed in recent posts. Most of the issues involve high Rez playback.
My advice? Don't bother. I get the best results running high Rez from a macbook (decibel software) into a Musical Fidelity V Link and out into the
Dac.
"My advice? Don't bother. I get the best results running high Rez from a macbook (decibel software) into a Musical Fidelity V Link and out into the Dac."

Well, I don't have a Mac, but is this option viable from a Windows PC?
Thanks to all for the input. I've seen nothing but raves about the Bryston, and am not averse to going that direction. It's just with the high cost of Hi Rez downloads, I'm simply not certain how far I will go with this.

I would love to buy the whole Stones catalog, for example, that HD Tracks is offering, but that's just not going to happen at $30-50.00 each!
"Is this a viable option from a Windows PC?"
It should be. you may have to install an extra driver or something. I use Windows based laptops at my office and several months ago I did play one flac
file directly into my dac (I didn't have the V Link at that time) and it worked well.
Your next post states that you have heard good things about the Bryston, but that the price of High Res downloads gives you cause for pause. I haven't heard the Bryston although people have raved about it. Note that it costs well over $2G, about the price of 7 squeezebox touches or 3 Marantz NA 7004. The Marantz or the SBT would leave you a lot more $ to buy music with. You could easily afford that whole Stones catalog with the money you would save.
Additional thoughts about the sbt and the Marantz. I've been spending quite a bit of time with both of them (in different systems in my house).
The sbt is really a hard to be value. I use it as a transport into my aforementioned PS Audio DAC. The High Res files from HD Tracks really do sound great. I prefer the sound of the Marantz by just the slightest of margins.
The interface of the sbt is a real bonus.
You had posted that you had a problem with a logitech problem in the past and that was turning you off the sbt. I had had a problem with a non functioning earlier version of the squeeze box many years ago and had a terrible experience with Slim Devices (the company that developed the product and was then purchased by Logitech) customer support. I too was reluctant to purchase the sbt but after reading many satisfied users on this forum I took the plunge (what the heck, $300 bucks).
I had a problem with the power supply, and then they sent me the wrong replacement supply. This was annoying, but their customer support was very responsive and ultimately sent me the right unit and offered me a credit towards another logitech product. Now that it works it is a lot of fun. i use it more for internet radio but as mentioned previously it does play high res files very well, both from usb and from my computer.
The Marantz has a nice sound but I can't recommend it because it is very buggy. The usb drive will stop playing flash drives and give a "no connection"
signal. These drives play just fine on the sbt. Marantz keeps claiming it must be a network problem and doesn't respond to the fact that these drives play on the sbt (same network) and I don't understand why a network problem should impact a drive that is directly connected. Marantz did send me another unit today for me to try and this one outputed no sound whatsoever, despite being hooked up to exactly the same connections as it's predecessor. When I reinstalled the first unit, at least I get audio, until it stops playing the flash drives.
btw, I have heard similar stories about the Cambridge Audio player, in terms of bugginess.
Again, I get fantastic results by playing the same files direct from my laptop
to a V Link (reduces jitter) and then to my dac. I really don't need any of these devices, because one can also get Internet Radio from a pc as well. The sbt makes it fun to surf for stations, and also will be useful when you want to start adding NAS drives.
In summary, if I were you, I would swallow your reservations about past problems that you may have had with Logitech, get the sbt, and spend the savings on more music. In a few years, these players will be more reliable, and players with quality similar to the Bryston will probably be more realistically priced. Upgrade at that time if you like.