Squeeze Box Love'n'hate

"but the sound quality still doesn't equal any of my transports"

First, try a good power supply it will make a BIG difference. Then, give Wayne @ www.boldercables.com a chance to mod it. He can work wonders on them.

Ecruz- For less money than the boldercables digital mod and PSU, I can get a new Vista laptop and a Trends USB to SPDIF converter. Heard this combo at a friend's home, and it blows away a wireless or wired SB3 with or without a linear PSU.

I think the key is the DAC. People on the SB forum give mixed reports on a power supply upgrade. From great to no difference at all. The only guy I read who actually did a single blind test couldn't tell any difference. I built a very nice 3A linear supply, if it helped it wasn't obvious. I haven't tried a blind test.

I just read about a study done in the UK on people who claim to be made sick by cell phone tower radiation. They were right, sort of. The researchers found that if these people thought they were being subjected to trasnmissions they became sick. It didn't make any difference if the tower was transmitting or not. They just had to be told it was. Additionally, in a double blind test they couldn't tell if the transmitter was on or not. I think a big part of high end audiophile cult follows this same pattern. But then, hey if you are enjoying it more, good for you.

I run my SB3 with a Pace-Car reclocker:
http://www.empiricalaudio.com/frPace-Car.html

With this device, it is not necessary to improve the output from the SB3, or the power supply. There is very little room inside to mod the SB3 anyway. No way to fit a Superclock4 inside for sure.

Steve N.

Steve- very interesting, but like the boldercables mods, it a lot money to invest in a SB3.