Would an external DAC improve the sound of my SONY

Socrates! I'm glad (and sad at the same time) that you confirmed my impression of Sony 999 vs. MF3 24 DAC. What would you suggest instead for Redbook and Multi- channel SACD playback. I could actually do without the DVD at this time, will add separate dedicated DVD later on, as needed.
Actually, I ended-up buying the MF3 24 DAC. Appreciate you response in advance.
P.S. Read your review on Marantz SA- 14, great read. Our music tastes are pretty similar btw. ( Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull, Orff, Beck, DSOTM, etc.) Regards.

Thanks for the kind words, Maril555. Sorry to say that I've not used a MCH SACD player much as a transport enough to give any suggestions, but maybe if you started a new thread on the subject you'll find someone who can suggest something in your price range. I've read of many folks not too happy with most DVD based SACD and Universal machines as a transport when compared to dedicated CD transports, so there may not be much hope short of going with Esoteric or Krell. From a recent audition I would add that the MF dac and even the MF CDpre24 is shockingly close to the Krell SACD Standards' sound on redbook, a really close battle overall, if that tells you anything.

If you can tolerate another box in the rack, a Theta Jade or Peal comes highly reccomended with this dac, or even the cheap Basic mates up very nicely. I'm strongly of the mind that the transport should be of the same quality (and usually near the same cost) as the dac attached to it; that both pieces are equally important for good sound. Good luck!

Since the Sony SACD units are widely modded at reasonable cost this may yeild better value sonic upgrade for less money. SACD Mods has nice upgrade package for $328:

http://www.sacdmods.com/

External Dac would also help but I think you get more bang for the buck doing mod.

Also remember if you get external Dac you have extra expense of another good AC cord, digital cable, and extra shelf space.

My question is now this: since I'm probably going to use Sony 999ES as a transport for Red Book playback with MF3 24 DAC, would doing the mods improve " garbage, coming out of the digital output" as was suggested by Socrates earlier in this thread. Or, should I forget about using Sony as transport, and just go ahead and modify it. And how one would compare MF3 24 DAC performance against, let's say Modwright first level mod? The price is not an issue, the Red Book performance is. I know, this horse has been beaten to death already, but still I want to know your opinions anyway. Regards.