Way ahead with transport / DVD

Edorr:
I have a Pioneer DV09 and was using it with an MSB Link DAC III + upsampling. I got a used Muse Model 5, and the sound was significantly better. If you really want to hold onto your DAC, getting a new transport may be the way to go. Still, you may get even better results with a complete new CD front end. I got a used YBA CD1A and the sound is now in a different league to my previous Transport/DAC combo. Good luck.

I went the way of the Theta DaViD know complaints so far. Works great as a CD transport or DVD player. Does either job nicely:~)

One of the advantages of the first and second approach are that you can play DAD discs. Although the number of them available is rather small, the quality is much higher, usually 24/96, and it is a safe bet in that it doesn't matter who wins the war, SACD or DVD Audio or even if both fall on their face you will still be able to get a DVD video player.

I personally spent a lot of time pondering these questions and wound up choosing to go with the ModWright approach since it was the cheapest, and not making a large investment until audiophile grade universal players are out. It's a tough decision because of the format wars.

I have not tried a DVD player as a transport but have talked to and read threads from those who have and, unless you need it for movies, a dedicated CD tranport will probably sound better. I have tried several transports for less than $1k and my favorite is the Parasound CBT 2000. I also have found that a jitter reduction device, like the Audio Alchemy DTI Pro, will enhance the sound of almost any transport.