Advice need: Wav/flac Reader with decent DAC

[Tony09]

Hi All,

I often use Flac files compressed with EAC and i have to rip them to a CDR and listen on my main CD Player. When i like the music i buy the original CD, but apart of this, i Burn a lot of CDR to i can listen on a decent way.

I'm wondering/looking for the beter audiophile solution on the market/diy project to i can read WAV or FLAC files directely from USB stick or USB HDD.

I already saw some solutions like Asus o'Play or WD, they are good for DivX and MKV movies but for the Music it desapoint (i think).

So i'm looking for a equipment with the ability of reading Losless audio files directly from USB Media with a good DAC incorporated and RCA or XLR outputs to conect directly on my integrated AMP.

I have some friends that have a PC with Asus Xonar connected to a external DAC, but this solution, because of space it's not good for me write now.

Anybody have a sugestion?

Thanks in advance.

Kind regards

[preiter]

Why not just put it all on your PC with a networked media player like a squeezebox?

[rsdio]

Sound Devices 7-Series offers CompactFlash, internal hard disk, FireWire and USB interface. Support for FLAC up to 96 kHz, WAV up to 192 kHz, MP3 and MP2. Headphone output, AES3 output, balanced stereo analog outputs. You can transfer files via FW/USB, or just plug the CF card into something that can access FAT file systems. The quality is certainly audiophile, but the price may be more than you're thinking.

[VictoriaGuy]

Logitech Squeezebox (Touch) has a reasonable DAC and will play flac from a memory stick or a connected USB hard drive.
It will also connect to a home network (Ethernet/wireless) and play music from your computer or via Internet radio.
I've got one and it works pretty well.

[Tony09]

Thanks all for the advice.

What do you guys think about the TEAC WAP2200 (sound quality)?

I'm also trying to search some DIY project.

Regards

[EUVL]

WAP2200 is very handy because of USB, but needs an external DAC via Toslink (SPDIF) to give reasonable performance.

Alternatives :

QA350--SD Card WAV High Fidelity Music Player

TRAXMOD Lossless Audio Player
http://koonlab.com/UltimateSourceV2.html

[Buckapound]

Actually the QA350 sounds pretty good to my ear as it is, but the WAV file-only, tiny screen and no support of hard drives are serious limitations. It's great in the car, though. I'm running a WD-TV with a small car monitor through one of these:

Mini HIFI SPDIF+OPTICAL DAC--PCM1793+DI​R9001+OPA2134 S

And it's sounding very nice, IMO. Swapped out the op amp in the DAC for a LM4562, which made an audible difference.

This Aune APE player looks good, but I can't tell what the story is as far as availability:

Aune Mini APE Player ( new products ) - $300.00 : hifidiy.net

--Buckapound

[kevinahcc20]

I concur with those recommending SB Touch...will give you great flexibility, useful interface, good sound on internal DAC and upgrade path to external DAC for really high quality. Can be had for about $280 online (including shipping in US).

[rsdio]

Originally Posted by kevinahcc20

I concur with those recommending SB Touch...will give you great flexibility, useful interface, good sound on internal DAC and upgrade path to external DAC for really high quality.

...except that the external DAC is via SPDIF, and thus suffers from jitter issues. A better choice would be a design where the DAC could be the master clock, and SPDIF does not allow this.

Nothing wrong with SB Touch, but just don't buy one believing that it is part of a really high quality system. When you get to that stage, just give the SB Touch to a family member as a gift and start over by buying something truly high quality.

[VictoriaGuy]

Originally Posted by rsdio

...except that the external DAC is via SPDIF, and thus suffers from jitter issues. A better choice would be a design where the DAC could be the master clock, and SPDIF does not allow this.

?
How do you get data out of your server?
So all SPDIF is 'compromised'?
Have you proven to yourself that you can hear this?