If you have a "kick booty" DAC, does the transport

A DAC that doesn't separate itself from the player with its own clocking must rely upon a very expensive player and a very expensive digital cable for the timing and delivery of the bits. That is, for the feeding of the bits to the digital converter chip.

Some modern DACs, in different ways--some more successful than others, have overcome this problem by reclocking the data making it possible to use a wide variety of relatively inexpensive players, including those that play SACDs and DVDs as well as CDs. They can do this with no sacrifice of audio quality on that account.

Of course how they handle the analog signal delivered from the converter chip will always have an effect on the sound.

Cable Quality?... SC Pulse transformers, and cat5 cable will blow many highend digitals out the water! USB has issues too.

Mel, true about the reclocking the data thing, but,
Truth is, It is limited to the quality of the data it's fed. It starts from the Extractment of data from the media.
;c)

Anthony

Anthony,

I am persuaded that, aside from the timing (important to audiophiles), a bit is a bit. Why do I think that? Because the CHEAPEST CD ROM drive can provide a PERFECT set of bits to a computer hard drive every time. If that were not true, and it made a mistake with only ONE bit, the computer program copied would crash.

So the bits are there, and a modern reclocking scheme can feed them to the converter chip exactly as intended without reference to the "extracting" unit.

And my ears tell me it works.

I have used an old sony CDP75ES (1991) as a transport via toslink out to an ultrajitterbug which reclocks and converts it to a digital coaxial out to my McCormack dac-1 deluxe. I've also used a modified PS audio lamda 1 transport (lambda 2 specs with new laser and board) to the McCormack dac alone and also through the ultrajitterbug. The sony is very good through the ultrajitterbug (terrible without it) but the lambda is still better used alone or through the ultrajitterbug. It is smoother overall with a more natural treble, and better defined lower midrange and bass. The transport does make a difference especially the clock function (jitter control) and output amp section.