Quote Originally Posted by hermanv
I keep wearing out my CD players and I find that with a first class DAC the quality of the player has no effect on sound (not everyone agrees with this). So I buy transports in the $150 range in order to avoid true junk. Wear 'em out throw them away. Not something I'd like to do with a $1K and up player (which probably uses the same mechanicals anyway).

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Totally agree. Since I got my new DAC, I've hooked up everything from a cheap Pioneer CDP to a very expensive transport only and haven't heard one iota of difference. The DAC is the Audio Note 3.1X and right now I'm using a Sony CDP as a transport. When it dies, I'm getting the cheapest player I can find with a coax digital out.

Incidentally, this DAC is the most amazing piece of gear I've ever bought. Not only do stellar recordings sound awesome but some poorly mastered CD's now sound listenable. I've never had both happen with any audio component before. I was firmly in the vinyl camp until this DAC came along.