I've posted a new applet to the 3rd party apps list for Squeezebox Touch. This is designed to enhance the digital output capabilities of the device for use with external Dacs. It is based on the software which people have helped me test on the "Async USB Dac Experiments" thread but should now be suitable for less experienced users to install.
The app should add support of the following to your Squeezebox Touch: - External USB dacs using either USB audio class 1 or 2 protocols [USB 1 dacs normally state they support up to 96k sample rates, USB 2 dacs normally state up to 192k] - Support of 176 and 192k playback via the standard digital output
There are a number of limitations to be aware of: 1) USB 1 dacs which operate in asynchronous mode probably need an external high speed hub to work without "clicks" - this is due to what appears to be a limitation in the Touch hardware. It is completely resolved with a cheap (<$10) bus powered hub connected between the dac and squeezebox. There is a workaround option which works with some dacs if a hub is not used, but it limits playback to 44/48k sample rates. At present is has only been proved to work with Audiolab/Lakewest dacs. 2) USB support does not yet support hot plugging of usb dacs - please connect your dac and leave turned on at present [this is likely to improve in future] 3) 192k playback requires a dac which supports it and is only supported with flac files using native decoding at present. [In future 7.8 LMS and firmware should support 192k wav streaming] It will also require sufficient bandwidth on your network. 4) Only one output can be selected at once, this means when a USB dac or the Digital Output are selected there will be no sound on the analog outputs.
The app is called "Enhanced Digital Output" and is the main 3rd party apps list.
To install, please following the following steps:1) Ensure your Squeezebox Touch is running 7.7.x or later firmware
2) Go to Apps Gallery -> 3rd Party Apps on the touch screen
3) Deselect the "recommended applets only" option, so that you see a longer list of apps
4) Select "Enhanced Digital Output" and select it for installation
5) Your touch should download the app, reboot, then download a new custom linux kernel and reboot again
6) You should now get a list of possible output devices - this should include "Digital Output" and your USB Dac if it is plugged in, select the appropriate output
7) Touch should reboot again and then be ready to start playing with the selected output
If you want to change the output go to Setting > Audio Settings > Digital Output; if you want to change some of the advanced options go to Settings > Advanced > Digital Output
Please note that if you perform a firmware update, then the app and kernel will need to be reinstalled, this should be automated just requiring you to install the app again or to have the "reinstall after update" option selected from the 3rd party apps list.If you want to completely remove the app, then uninstall it and force a firmware upgrade to reinstall the Logitech firmware and kernel.
Please post your feedback on this thread - I would like to create a list of USB DACs which are known to work with it, we started that on the experiment thread, but I think it would be cleaner to maintain a list here.
Squeezebox touch - initial thoughts
Posted by: analogmusic on 29 May 2012
I guess I am a bit late to the streaming party, but I just got myself a Squeezebox touch.
I thought long and hard between a Sonos, the Squeezebox and other solutions. I know I possibly can't justify the NDS, but I really do want to compare it to the NDAC and then aspire to either one. One needs things to aim for in life and the NDS seems to be for me the "ultimate" source.
For now though, on a recent trip to London, I went to PCworld near oxford street and made the purchase.
I came home and for a day ran the squeezebox from a USB drive. Very nice.
I then read enough on various sites that the server software needs to be run from either the internal Squeezebox hardware (with USB attached), or a compatible NAS such as Netgear/Synology or even a basic PC/MAC.
For now it is running off my desktop PC, and my music is on a network drive. One can point the location of the music on the logitech server software to pretty much anywhere in the home network.
I really do like this little music making machine, and I can certainly understand why Naim think streaming is the future.
It really does "free your music" as advertised on the Iphone App before the app starts.
Once set up, my wife was playing various songs and enjoying it too. All the albums are listed with their album covers and it's just click one song, and click for the next one.
I just can't see myself ever going back to a CD player again.
I can't comment much on the Sonos, but once set up properly, the squeezebox is a wonderful little box. Although I can certainly understand that one does need to make some intial effort to set it up. I am sure the sonos is a wonderful machine too.
The sound quality is not bad, and now the decision is, which DAC to use it with.
NDAC was certainly the DAC of choice, until the NDS, but the cost of NDS is really, really, way beyond what I am prepared to spend.
Interestingly enough there is a webpage which shows how to tweak the internal software of the SB touch, and clearly the author does say that transport makes a difference to how the DAC sounds, and bits are not simply bits.
For instance switching off the Wifi, the display, the background software, makes the SB touch sound better, which is pretty consistent with the reports that the NDAC is affected by the quality of the transport.
Which is why maybe an intergrated streamer like NDX or NDS maybe be a better solution than NDAC alone fed by a poor quality transport. I don't know. I love good sound quality, but somehow I see now that useability and good software (with Iphone/Ipad remote control) and being able to access music is equally important to the experience.
Streaming is a wonderful way to enjoy music !