@dprincipato — the Schiit Modi is their $99 entry-level DAC. My advice — if the Modi was the equal or slightly better than your Yammy, don’t listen to any of their better DACs or you’ll never like listening to your Yamaha ever again once you hear what’s possible. It ain’t a subtle difference.
@skyscraper — I took a deeper look and I think you’re leaving a lot of performance on the table — especially considering the quality of the rest of your rig — fronting your digital music with a $1000 CD player. I’d strongly suggest doing an in-home trial of a good DAC just to see what you may be missing. Here’s one potential option — Hifi Heaven offers a return policy if you buy a DAC from them, so other than maybe a little shipping cost there’s no risk to you. You should try a Metrum Onyx R2R NOS DAC and prepare to have your world rocked. My bet is you won’t return it. Just something to noodle over during the holidays.
@skyscraper — I took a deeper look and I think you’re leaving a lot of performance on the table — especially considering the quality of the rest of your rig — fronting your digital music with a $1000 CD player. I’d strongly suggest doing an in-home trial of a good DAC just to see what you may be missing. Here’s one potential option — Hifi Heaven offers a return policy if you buy a DAC from them, so other than maybe a little shipping cost there’s no risk to you. You should try a Metrum Onyx R2R NOS DAC and prepare to have your world rocked. My bet is you won’t return it. Just something to noodle over during the holidays.