CDP Upgrade

Since you can spring for up to $2,500 I'd go for the Ayre as well. The Ayre warranty is tranferrable and you will not find better customer service. Besides all this the unit sounds phenomenal. If you get one for $2,200 -$2,300 you can audition for a month and if you don't love it probably recoup 100% of you investment, (assuming you get one in 9+ condition). You can't go wrong with many of the selections notated earlier but my two cents would say to track down an Ayre player and give it a shot.

Hammergjh - You certainly have more patience than I do; once I have "upgraditis" I can't wait for months to buy! Good for you - you are taking the time to audition all comers and buy the one that pleases your ears the most.

Just to throw some more choices in the ring, I ended up buying a Audio Aero Prima CD-player. I really like its sound - and its looks - and am quite pleased with my purchase.

I am now using my Rotel CDP for my modest computer room music system. It works well for that, but the Prima is a keeper for my main system.

Holly

I just picked up a Bel Canto DAC2, used, from here. I'll be getting it within a week or so, as it's coming from California.

I've heard nothing but great things about the Bel Canto. I'll post my impressions when it arrives.

I'm psyched!

I also had the Rotel 1072 and then moved up to other players. I went through Marantz SA-14 and then had it modified by TRL. I then bought a Marantz Sa-1 which is a nice player but it was ultimately replaced by the TRL modified DVP NS900V. This player is really good. I know two people who have replaced over $10,000 units with this player. You can buy the player for about $350.00 and then the mod is $750. They also have a battery powered mod for an additional $750 that is supposed to be incredible. I plan to have my unit upgraded to battery status in the next few weeks. I cannot think of a better player within thousands of dollars than this player. Best of luck on the adventure.

I installed Bel Canto DAC2 using a Blue Jeans Cable, which is a Belden coax cable with Canare RCA jacks. Hmm...

The verdict. Better. But, not earth shattering. Subtle improvements in glare, smoothness, smearing and noise floor. Yeah, the differences are there, all right. But you don't drop your jaw and say "wow!". I'll let it settle in and see how it goes.

Both my wife and I heard the difference. So, this is a positive step. A subtle one, however.

Can I expect big differences in digital sources?