Help me with a digital Font end

Here's what I'd do, for what it's worth. The Cambridge should make a very good transport, so I'd recommend an Electronic Visionary Systems Millennium DAC II($1050, www.tweakaudio.com) that will be very tough to match for any used $1k CDP. You can try it for 30 days and if it doesn't blow you away just return it.

Since music is the priority in this system I'd get an Adcom GFA-750 that has a Home Theater pass-through feature that will allow it to blend seamlessly with your pre/pro. This way you can use your current pre/pro for surround processing, but for more critical 2-channel listening the 750 is the only preamp in the system. Any used pre/pro you pick up will likely not have the latest processing capabilities and will certainly not match the 750's performance in stereo.

So this way you get all new equipment(I'm pretty leary of buying used CDPs especially) with true high-end 2-channel performance, and you can continue to use your current equipment and don't have to worry about selling it. Anyway, that's what I'd do. Hope this was helpful and best of luck.

Tim

Any interest in SACD? Might get a used 777 in your range, or think about a new multi-channel player since you have an integrated system. I don't think you'll improve the 760 much for 1-1.5k for a pre/pro, but could with a separate 2-ch pre integrated with the 760. Might do better dropping down (in price) to the new Outlaw 950 for $900, and put the rest in the front end or 2-ch pre.

Since Soix brought it up, Here's another question I have. Is the music capabilities of a fairly good pre/proc up to par with the sonic capabilitirs of a straight pre-amp? Does a Lexicon DC-2 equal an Adcom GFP-750 in music?

In answer to your question...NO. I had the opportunity to compare a DC-1 with a couple other pre/pros that I would not put in the same league sonically as the GFP-750, and the DC-1 unanymously came in dead last even in that comparison(it was a blind test by the way). If you're serious about 2-channel do not get the DC(does anyone know if the DC-2 digitizes all analog inputs like the DC-1?).

Basically with a pre/pro you're sending a very delicate, low-level signal through an electronic obstacle course that is very difficult to shield the signal from(I'm not sure but my guess is that in general the power supplies are better and less strained in a good stereo preamp than in a pre/pro, which if true would also make a big difference in performance). There are some pre/pros in the $6k realm I've heard that do a respectable job for stereo listening, but nothing in your price range is going to come close to the performance of a preamp at the level of the GFP-750, at least in my experience. In my opinion(again, for what it's worth) the preamp is too crucial to the performance of a system to make a compromise here. If you can accomodate another box in your system I strongly recommend you at least try a good stereo preamp with an HT pass-through in your system. Best of luck.

Tim

I DEFINATELY do NOT want to compromise 2 ch. performance so there is absolutely room for another box in my system. I haven't really been exposed to this way of going about it, but it seems to be an excellent way to go (pre/proc. and a seperate 2 channel pre-amp) Do I need to look for something in particular when shopping for the stereo pre? I'm assuming I need something called HT pass-through. Anything else to look for? Any problems with going this route? What are good pre-amps to look for with this feature?
My cdp has already been sold so I won't be able to use it as a transport; I therefore still need a new one. Anyone know of any really good synergies out there between:
X-cdp, X-pre-amp(with HT pass-through) and my Citation amps?

Thanks,

Steve