Connecting external harddisk to squeezebox touch via USB possible?

Just read an article in the Audio magazine (German) about the Squeezebox touch and I got very interested. Apparently its D/A converter can handle 24 bit / 96 khz, which is more than Sonos can handle....

I am not that much interested in having a "multi room" solution, but I'm simply beyond having to dig up CD's to access my music. So playing my music in one room is enough, yet preferably from a harddisk, high quality and conveniently accessible. Since my music collection is not updated that often, I am perfectly happy to store newly ripped CD's every now and then on an external harddisk and then connect this harddisk to a streaming device. That's where the Squeezebox touch possibly comes in. It appears to have a USB connection and I'm wondering whether it supports the possibility to simply connect an external harddisk with music. Would the Squeezbox touch index the contents of the disk and make it available to stream to an amplifier? If things are actually that simply, I won't even bother setting up a wireless connection and install server software on a PC or NAS.... (I am interested though in the possibility to upgrade such a setup, by installing an external DAC between the squeezebox and the amp.)

If anyone of you has experience with the squeezebox touch, I'd be very happy if you could answer my question.

(Apart from this, a common misunderstanding regarding the squeezebox touch seems to be that in order to operate it, it's required to go to the device each time. According to the article, it is possible to operate it simply with a remote control...)

 Best wishes,

Wouter