SBT/DAC good enough for a nac 252? or not?

Hi Louis Andre

I'm really surprised by your comment because i  made myself several blind test before buying my NDX (was on SN/Hicap at this time)

The comparison was between my old SBT + SN Dac, then with the Ndac, Nd5x and the NDX and finally my CD5x/Flatcap 2) at the end, for my ears every element was better than the SB3, so cannot imagine the the CDs3/XPS2 is bellow this small box....

I have to admit that the SB sound is very good but after several long listening the sound become a bit "flat" not well detailed in the bass line, no or less "air" than with other setup. On my new setup gap was even bigger so ends with the NDX and very happy with it (and sell all my CD stuff ;-) )

Would suggest you to run several test in our dealer before changing anything.

Tks keep us posted

Bonjour Louis-André,

I bet the test wasn't very long, moreover you need to do the test with a large variety of music, including classical, maybe you did, I don't know...

Try to listen to your SBT/PSU/TeddyDac for a week, the second week, put back the CDS3 and listen to it for a week...

I think you'll realize that the CDS3 is quite better and in a different league.

regards,

Edouard

Bonjour Louis-André,

What kind of music did you listen for the test, and how long was the test?

Try to listen to the SBT/PSU/TeddyDac for a week, the next week put the CDS3 back and listen to it for a week, listen to a large variety of music, modern, jazz, classical, vocal...

I bet you'll realize that the CDS3 is qute better and in a different league

regards,

Edouard

I ran a sbt into teddydac, 252 happily before upgrading to ndx. The touch is good via teddydac but ndx  Improves bass weight, separation and lower noise floor. I run ndx into teddydac still. I have roksan caspian cd player which is now hardly used which indicates my satisfaction with ndx sound quality Suggest demo 252 and see what you think.

Hi Edouard,

I have not made long listening yet, all I have done now is swapping from one unit to the other. I have tried with a dozen of albums to date, the type of music i listen mainly (Jesse Cook, Regina Spektor, Yello, Marc Lavoine, Barenaked Ladies, Kings of Convenience, to name of few).

On each type I find differences extremely small.

If I disconnect Paul Hynes' PSU from teh SBT, tridimensionality remains on par with both but the sound of the SBT becomes grainy and digital in comparison to teh CDS3. Now if I disconnect the TeddyDac sounds become flat and uninvolving...

I will not make a decision yet, and will keep listening. I am puzzled though...

Squeezebox Touch and SB3 are not the same thing...the former is way better.

Hello Louis-André,

Are you ready to upgrade to a 252? If you can get a DR version, even better but it will cost you more. If you are ready financially, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. I suspect everything will improve but you might prefer the CDS3. It could potentially show the differences better but I think the SBT/DAC is good enough. What if you just upgrade the hicap to a supercap right now?

I've said this before many times, I prefer my CDS3/XPS2 to my SBT/DAC/XPS2 for pure musical enjoyment. The CDS3 presents music in a way that I just love. Is the SBT more convenient, absolutely. But when I really want to get lost in the music, I warm up the CDS3, get the beverage of choice and chill.

Arun

make sure you install touch toolbox 3.0 and disable anything you do not need (IR, wireless, analogue out, etc.).  this improves sound significantly. make your camparisons afterwards. 

+1

I think in this test it is more about the comparison of CDS3 DAC with Teddy DAC which this part has more bearing on the overall sound. No doubt Teddy DAC is highly regarded by many but still I am little surprised OP finds there is little difference to separate the 2 combos.

Keep us posted.

i will follow the advice to continue comparisons before deciding on selling the CDS3 or not...so far the 2 set ups sound so close to each other, i actually wonder if this is notvdue tonthe fact that XPS ( from 2004) is due for servicing and might be a cause...?

Marc-André,

I purchased my CDS3/XPS2  in 2004, but I sold the XPS2 in 2006 and purchased new a 555PS, and no need to service it yet. Maybe your dealer can help you to sort things out. How about demoing the 555PS

Regards,

Edouard

A couple of things to look at:

1. The definition of sound is determined by the whole chain of devices. So a NAC 252 will reveal more and will do more justice to a better source. A less accomplished pre might not fully reveal the difference.

2. Auditioning is about using distinctive pieces to get into the difference. I tend to audition with a combination of classical, jazz, pop, aggresive and complex progressive rock....The combination will very often reveal the differences in different corners.

3. Trying to compare apples with apples also helps - so sometimes we forget that besides the initial comparison we also made different changes (cables, burn in time....)

4. Preferences - everybody has a preference it what he wants to hear. Some of the revealing aspects of a good kid are not everybodies cup of tea.

But more important, at the end if you don't hear the difference or can't appreciate the difference enough then that doesn't need to be a problem. You just can accept it and choose accordingly.