Logitech Squeezebox sound compared to CD Player

The SBT hits way above its weight class when used with a high end outboard DAC. For something that costs less than the tax on some people's interconnects, its well worth trying it out. I'm using it with a nice quality DAC and I'm continually impressed by it.

I think a good external dac would make a huge difference. Neither system I heard fit that bill.

I own both the Denon universal player that you own and the SBT.
The Denon is better and of course you cannot play sacd or DVD-a on the SBT. The SBT is still a great value but it does sound just slightly veiled when used with the same Dac that I use with the 2930 for reb book cd.

I'm not familiar with your Denon player, but I have a Rotel RCD1072, used to retail at $800 and was talked highly for its price, and a Touch. I use the analog outs of both into my Lamm LL2 pre and Mc MC275 amp, and B&W 804S speakers. Certainly not a super-system, but decent for many people.

When playing a ripped CD using dBpoweramp and lossless settings vs playing the same cd on the Rotel, I cannot hear any difference. Then of course I can play 24/96 material on the Touch which sounds great, but cannot compare to the Rotel. Suffice to say since purchasing the Touch this January I have not been using the Rotel and likely to sell it.

Next step is the outboard DAC, as noted here before. Note that besides the mods mentioned, there is a free set of mods you can do (settings, software) supplied by member Soundcheck. Haven't tried them, but people report significant improvements.

Go for it!!
:-)

The Logitech is veiled. I love it, but compared to my other digital sources, it has a blanket over it.