I am encouraged to hear that my short list is a good place to start. I wish I had the opportunity to hear some of them. Unfortunately, in Chicago, none of them is available. I have spoken with a few out of state dealers. However, none of them is familiar with more than two of the units in question. So, your help is very important. Thank you.
By the way, any thoughts as to a good ratio of ones budget to spend on the DAC v. the transport? For example, would a $7,000 DAC w/ my $500 Sony 5 disk DVD player be preferable to a $4,000 DAC with a $3,000 transport? Given my history of upgrading something every several months, I think that would probably be more cost effective in the long run.
By the way, any thoughts as to a good ratio of ones budget to spend on the DAC v. the transport? For example, would a $7,000 DAC w/ my $500 Sony 5 disk DVD player be preferable to a $4,000 DAC with a $3,000 transport? Given my history of upgrading something every several months, I think that would probably be more cost effective in the long run.