New to dac/cd transport concept

There are no outboard DACS that will decode the DSD datastream of SACD. There are no absolute answer as to whether a single box or a dac/transport is superior.

Russe41,

Well where to start. You will not find a high end Transport DAC combination that will play SACD as it is a proprietary format. If memory serves me correctly Denon and Sony have SACD outputs from some of their players that will feed their AVP's.

Transport DAC combinations are reserved for redbook (CD) playback.

When I made the leap to seperates for a digital front end I found the transport made a significant difference. It took 4 transports to reach the level that I was after.

The transports ability to read and transfer the data from the CD to the transport is IMHO very important.

Ok that said I feel you can find a good used DAC for 1K. I would recomend a digital cable from Bluejeans cable (Just google it). Then find a used theta data basic II transport for $600.00. Then spend the other 400 on your favorite music.

I feel that you will not miss SACD with a good redbook front end.

Good luck.

8260 will not output a digital signal when SACD is playing. you can use the analog outputs of your 8260 to listen to SACD and at the same time have a digital cable going from 8260 to a separate dac for redbook playback. you just need to use 2 different inputs on your preamp, one for dac and one for 8260. Of course you will have to have 2 sets of anlog interconnects as well if you want to do this, unless you are going to switch them between the dac and the player.

IMO, if you get a good used dac, playing a redbook disc on it will most likely blow away the 8260 playing the same disc SACD version, so you will have no desire to listen to SACDs on it.

You might very well get some improvement on CD with a separate DAC, but I would try to borrow one before taking the plunge. There have been steady improvements with CD over the years and some current budget players can equal or exceed the top DACs of yesteryear. With respect to SACD, forget about an outboard DAC. The digital signal is different and requires a special transport and DAC. EMM Labs makes such a combo but you're talking many thousands. Other campanies may be producing similar, but they are still expensive.