Quote Originally Posted by Arch
This is fascinating.

2 questions:

1) If I eventually want to upgrade my CD player, providing that my transport is working well, does it mean that the way to go is to buy a external DAC and hook it up to whatever player I will eventually have?

2) What about a DVD player? What if I connect a CD DAC to the digital output of my DVD machine? Will that sound identical to a CD transport?
Firstly any difference is attributable to the dac stage. So theoretically a better DAC in the cambridge or Arcam will plausably sound better. But WHY pay for the transport as well? Especially if you have a transport already. Yes you could use a DVD player just the same...though it may disrupt the movies sound adversely.

DACs in a lot of players are internally upgradeable - which tells you the only part of the machine that has an effect is the DAC. If I had $1200.00 to spend I would buy a changer and an Audio Note or some other external DAC and I get great sound and lots of features.

Or I can buy a single disc changer with a far worse DAC and no features with a sound no better and probably inferior for the Same. Gee this is not too hard to choose.

And what if you get that sub $200.00 feature laden changer home and oh wow in fact it sounds very damn good all by itself? The Audio Note Dac 1.1 is ~$850.00US. Now UHF magazine just reviewed the unit with the matching transport and said it bettered their mega buck reference cd player.

You have to dig this stuff up because if you JUST read the heavily advertised American magazines you're going to buy the usual Arcam, Cambridge and Rotel. As transports they are no better than a mega changer. They may use a better DAC...and they may sound slightly better...but gone are the days when cheaper cd players sounded really bright or shrill. The Sony mega changer actually sounds sweet in the highs.
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue2/andac.htm
http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/audionote_dac11.htm
http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/audionote11kit_e.html
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...anmeetsmsb.htm


Best of all the Audio Note DACs are upgradeable all the way up to their $50,000.00 model. All of their stuff is upgradeable with their top of the line system being over half a million smackers. For the fun here is a review of one of the more ridiculously priced DACs
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazin...ac5special.htm
http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/review_read.asp?ID=439