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January 27, 2008 - 12:07pm
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Sonos with Benchmark DAC1 versus Slim Device Transporter
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That's a tough one, particularly for this Transporter owner. So with that disclosed upfront, I will say I think it difficult to compare features without seeming TP biased. I'm also suspecting you've investigated this enough to weigh the features vs. dollars for yourself.
So, based solely on sound quality, and pointing out the fact the Sonos will not play High Rez, (dubious importance) it is my humble opinion state of the art musical nirvana may be had with either.
RG
Slime device? was that a freudian slip?
I like the 1 box solution of Transporter and the new remote is great with album art . There is also a plugin to view the lyrics of the playing song on the remote.
Both the Benchmark and LavryDAC10 are in the same league and would likely be indistinguishable in a blind test.
I prefer the sound of the TP but that could easily be expectation bias.
I would take JA's quote as saying its all about the DAC. This simply means you need to hear them both and decide what's best for you.
If I might add the Sonos allows you to change that DAC to something else at a later point in time.
Both are excellent DACs. However, the difference is readily discernible in a blind test once you have experience with both.
The DA10 has a more open, transparent sound with a wider and deeper soundstage. The DAC1 has a subtle greyness/grain that becomes apparent once you have heard it.
However, both are excellent. This is a hyper-picky observation.
I don't have sufficient experience with the Trasporter to comment.
I haven't compared blind. I do like the Lavry more but my favorite is Transporter, it does sound best to me.
My comment about blind testing was meant more to convey that all 3 DAC's are very good and which is best might be a matter of personal preference and system synergy.
Agreed; all three are excellent.
I would enjoy spending some serious listening time with the Transporter. I am curious how it compares as a DAC.
I want to thank you all for your input on this topic. I feel exactly the same way that the difference between these 2 would be very subtle at most. The main difference is in some of the features/functionaility. I guess I was hoping for something else to convince me otherwise.
I purchase the SONOS becuase of the handheld remote. After all, who wants to view/search your 30K music library with a basic remote. Of course now Logitech comes out with one thats compreable.
I currently have all my CD's ripped to uncompressed WAV format. I have the SONOS feeding the Benchmark DAC1 feeding a Audio Research VS55 tube amp that feeding Joesph Audio RM25XL speakers. I dont have many sources, mainly the SONOS and a Rotel CD player. The only 2 beneifts I see with the Transporter is a volume control on the remote that would be used for everything and having the ability one day to support 24 bit 96K formats.
I guess there are bigger problems to be had in life!
The Transporter does have nice connectivity features.
I expect that high resolution will become quite common with wireless systems. At the moment, this is one of the distinctions that Logitech is using to entice Transporter buyers.
I continue to be fascinated that some really care whether they get pictures with their remote. Clearly all of our minds work differently.
As you can buy a Transporter on 30 day approval, why not pick one up and try it out?