- for better sound
- to use DAC as a preamp (I do)
- some DACs have headphone amp (my Benchmark DAC1 does)
- to connect computer, HDTV, DVD etc.
- to use flexibility of a server
- to go higher than 16bit/44.1kHz
- to play different formats like mp3, DVD-Audio
- to be independent from CDP transport failure (it happened to me)
Investing in CDP might be risky since CD stores are empty, sales are down and some companies already stopped making CDs (like Linn). Future is in downloads.