DAC or CD Player. Help!

The result is a function of the CD transport, the cable used, the DAC and the synergy between the aforementioned.

+1  It all matters.

Synergy is about the most useless audio platitude I can imagine. I'm not trying to be rude, seriously, but it's so absolutely objective as to be absurd. It's like saying "get the best white base you can" when buying paint.

Forgot the question :) .. if the transport isn't shite (most middling+ CD players) then I'd say the DAC. Rarely, if ever, the cables. On both the desktop and main system I use Cambridge players, and both run the signal to a DAC. A NAD 1050 and Arcam irDAC. I run them that way because I'm convinced through trial and error that they sound better dumping their 1 and 0s to the aftermarket DACs. Having said that, when I was using a 1st generation DAC Magic (Cambridge) I couldn't hear enough difference to matter. In fact, that DAC sounded brighter in comparison to the CD player alone.

All matters including cable.  Synergy is important.  In case of digital connection it will be output impedance of CDP, input impedance of the DAC and characteristic impedance of the cable.  It will also be length of the cable, slew rate of the CDP etc.  It is a system thing.

RSA,

it all matters!