Beatles USB via Squeezebox Touch

Probably a good idea to copy the files to disk and play from there, similar to ripping a CD, but should be much faster than ripping.

That will save wear and tear on the source usb device. Better to store that away in a safe place.

I've been able do that, but it seems to me that the sounds should be better going directly into the back of the Touch via the usb port, because that bypasses iTunes, my router, wireless, etc. With my iMac and iTunes, I had to convert to wav, which I think would also not be as good as going directly with the flac into the back of the Touch. But I'm just guessing.

Can anyone with more knowledge with in on this?

I use lossless .wav. The sound quality is top notch. I would not worry about that. That's assuming the conversion software works properly as one would expect.

The location of the source music files on the computer is also not a factor in sound quality, The only issue occurs if the file can not be streamed fast enough to play without delays. That should not be a problem on most newer home computers and wireless G or better home networks that are operating normally and not doing too many other things concurrently.

The reason that the location of the computer files does not affect the sound quality is that these are source data files. THE DAC process onboard the Squeezebox is where the bits are input into the DAC processes and sound is created.

This is directly analogous to what occurs with my Roku Soundbridge and music server in my system, so I have highest confidence that the results will be very good.

One way to improve it further if needed is to use a very high quality outboard DAC device with the Squeezebox Touch ratrher than the Squeezebox's internal DAC, which I have read is not bad to start with.

Using any drive directly into the SBT's USB input means that you are forced to use the tiny server software in the SBT rather than the one on the host computer. Interaction is sluggish and 24/192, fwiw, is not possible.

Kal

Mapman and Kal -- So you're both saying that I will get better sound by copying the Beatles USB files to me computer (iTunes) and then stream it to the Touch -- rather than run it directly into the back of the Touch? That's good to know. I had assume that the more direct connection to the Touch would be better. I'm new at this but starting to get the hang of computer audio and liking it alot. Many thanks for your help -- I suspect there are lots of other folks learning the ropes of this new world through these forums.

Just out of curiosity, is it possible to feed as USB drive (like hte Beatles set) directly to the Touch through its USB port? That didn't work for me, and I'm convinced that copying the files is the way to go. But I'm just wondering.