Looking for a DAC for the Squeezebox Touch

Hi Ronrags,

I had the Rega for a week in my system courtesy of my very local kind B&M store.

It sounded great, to my ears it made music. Really easy sound nothing objectionable and it was a step in the direction I wanted to go from using the Havana unit (which I also enjoyed and had for over a year).

I would have happily purchased the Rega though I waited for the DAC2 to come in to the store for comparison and wanted to at least try it out to see if I would prefer it.

We compared both the Rega and DAC2 (in store) with a few other interested shoppers and everyone agreed the DAC2 was better for their own reasons; for me it was that the DAC2 provided more detail and bass authority without getting edgy at all. Just what I wanted in my system.

So that was it for me and it was confirmed in my own system at home later in the day, and I have no regrets.

I don't think you can make a bad decision here, both are great units and both made a significant upgrade in my system.

Juggernaut850, was there a significant improvement in sound from the Rega Dac and the internal DAC in the Squeezebox Touch? Coming from no external DAC at all right now in my B&W 802DI system I am wondering if the $995 upgrade to the Rega DAC is significant enough to justify the cost.....

Thanks for the response. I guess it is a matter of taste and preferences.

Spacemanrick: Yes, for sure it was a significant improvement. I am surprised at how much the DAC's changed the sound of my system. As for the value question, tough one. $1K is a lot and can go a long way towards other toys like amps / preamps so I can't really answer this one. (For me the DAC2 was worth it even though it meant my wife got a fancy purse to "even" things up)

Any chance you have a local store that would let you demo it before committing to buy?

Gotta keep the local guys around as much as possible....

Dacmagic...no longer hip but still the one to beat for features, price, and sound. Improved my SBT sound a LOT...love it.