Quote Originally Posted by hermanv
I have never heard the DAC in any Cambridge player. Nor do I know anything about the rest of your system. The most common advice is; trust your ears.

These decisions are very difficult and it would seem that using a forum to make them is quite dangerous. You need to find a store you trust or make contact with other local audiophiles and listen to their stuff. Once you have some exposure you can then make a reasonable decision about what kind of monetary investment vs. sound quality tradeoff makes sense to you.

As I spend more years at this audiophile hobby I have learned an unfortunate lesson. You may not always get what you pay for but you never get what you don't pay for. Like many others in the hobby, I have replaced some parts of my equipment chain more than once, resulting in a considerably higher total outlay than it would have cost to buy very good equipment at the outset.

I am now spoiled enough that the only equipment I hear that sounds good to me is quite expensive. Not everyone agrees that the sound quality continuously improves with price but my experience leads me to believe that mostly it does. Truly good sounding systems can seem quite exorbitant compared to a $350 receiver. For me he difference is worth it, it might not be to you.
Thanks, this is the kind of good advice I generaly give my kids and yet I need to hear it myself sometimes. Not being perfiectly satisfied with Hi-fi gear for me is a curse. Maybe I need an extended period of non-critical listening to get re-calibrated.