Stereophile Rated the Sqeezebox Touch Class D

Ozzy, you missed the point. You are beyond worrying about what Stereophools think. You have invested a lot of time and money into building a system that pleases you. To hell with Stereophile. It is one opinion.

It is human nature to attack a critic when they don't agree with you but if you are confident that your assessment is valid then any angst is too much. Our time here is too short to waste any of it agonizing over an opinion we disagree with. Enjoy what you have.

I have been attacked. criticized, and called a tin ear over my choice to digitize my vinyl but I'm confident it sounds wonderful. It helps that I've had others with a depth of experience confirm my findings but I sit and tap my toe while others throw darts at something they've never heard.

Bottom line.... trust your own ears.. I believe was the Duke who said something like.. if sounds good it is good.

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Kbarkamian ,Riffle, Herman, and all who have added there opinions, Thank you all for your comments.

I will continue to enjoy my Sqeezebox Touch and for now I will keep my subscriptions to the Audio Mags.
But, I will never again put much creedence in the so called subjective rating system.

I think you're still missing the point. Think of it this way. ALL OF THE RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS ARE RATED AN A. Then break it down within that A to a ranking of A-E with D and E specific to value for money rankings.

I liked J.A.'s reply, and I agree with him.

When used through its internal DAC and analog outs, the Touch is a darned good $300 device, but it's nowhere near the world's best components when used that way.

When used as a digital transport feeding a good DAC, however, it functions markedly better (which is how I am using it right now), and it is practically a steal. But then it's abilities as a musical device depends on the DAC you're using, and there's no way they can deal with that as part of their recommendations.

Maybe in the next round they'll add a note that says "even better when used a digital transport."

Of course, Kal covers that well in his review.