Anyone use a DVD player as a front end?

Kijanki, I'll have to disagree with you. Upsampling DACs like the Benchmark and Bel Canto reduce the difference between the quality of transport, but the quality of the transport definitely still makes a difference.

As a long time Bel Canto dealer I've had great sound from numerous transports into the DAC3, including DVD players, but the best transport I've heard into the DAC3 is the Bel Canto CD-2. There is a difference.

I think the original poster was referring to using a DVD player through its analog outs for CD playback, not as a transport with a DAC, but perhaps I misundersood.

Jane -- Jitter that can be introduced at the interface between a separate transport and dac will be a sensitive function of cable length. See the comment by Tobias in the following thread, and the subsequent comments by me and others:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr_post.pl?ddgtl&1237611683&2&3&4&5

Obviously this effect is not relevant to a stand-alone dvd or cd player, but perhaps it was a factor in your listening sessions with transport/dac combinations.

Regards,
-- Al

Corrrection to the link in my previous post:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?fcabl&1233206618

-- Al