Will a new Dac improve the sound?

@tweak1 

+1 for the Audiolab 6000CDT. I have one and its really good.

Cables/ interconnects are other issues that i need to address. I am using Audioquest, i don't remember the exact ones ,but they are on the budget end of their cables. 

I have a high-end CD player (Marantz SA-10), which I'm using without my DAC (Chord Qutest).  I can't tell any significance difference in the sound when it's attached to the CD player.  Maybe the sound from Marantz (even without built-in DAC) is so good you don't need a DAC.

People sometimes overlook the A in DAC.  The analog side is just as important to the overall sound.  While I'm not personally a fan of tubes, they are an example of how much the sound can be affected by the analog stage. 

However, the digital side controls your digital flexibility wrt input connectivity, sample rates, bit depths, and the initials - DSD, MQA, etc.  I'm guessing these things are less important to you now, but will come up when you tackle streaming. 

I was curious about one thing.  Your Cary decoded HDCD, a precursor to MQA.  Do you have any HDCD CDs?  If so, you may want to consider an HDCD-compatible DAC.  I don't know if there are any still currently in production, so this would likely have to be used.

No, i do not have any HDCD Cds.