Looking to improve CD playback

Dan, I am sure your Arcam/DAC combination sounds great. As does my Arcam/DAC. I am just looking to maximize what I am getting from my CD collection. Also thinking now is the time to replace the BDA-1 while it will still provide me ~$700 on the used market, as I believe it remains a very good DAC. It just might be that I reconsider the I2S connection. 

Auxinput, I was concerned about there not being a standard for the HDMI I2S connection. I will consult with vendors regarding pin use. Given that the I2S input and other upgrades can be installed at a later date by Mirror Audio I am considering the purchase of the basic unit 1st and make decisions on upgrades after getting accustomed to the new DAC. It may be possible that Mirror Audio can configure the pin output to compliment a transport of choice. I will get to an understanding of this prior to making a purchase. Thanks!

George, Thanks for your support for my 'subjective' approach. Also the Holo Spring DACs are of interest to me as I have read reviews. Thinking the Tubador may better fit my budget. I am pretty sold on the R2R Multibit approach. Also looking to add tubes to the output stage which will drive my tube preamp.

Geoffkait, I will do my best to isolate the transport with consideration of routing internally generated vibrations and shielding from external ones.

mesch,
I have a BDA-1, and it is a fine DAC (I now have mine in my second system).  I also have a Bryston BCD-1 CD player.  Some years ago before I got into streaming, at the same time that I auditioned the BCD-1, I also auditioned the BDA-1.  Both at the dealer and and with a borrowed BDA-1, I experimented with a number of  lesser CD players and DVD players, including my own Denon 2910 DVD/SACD universal player hooked up to the BDA-1. It was no contest, even thought the BDA-1 was the technically superior DAC to the similar DAC built into the BCD-1, in terms of SQ, the BCD-1 just simply outperformed any of the combos I compared it to.  I came into the shop thinking about buying a good DAC, but wound up buying the BCD-1 instead.  When it came to spinning plain vanilla Redbook CD's the BCD-1 with it's rock solid Redbook CD only transport was the clear winner.  So the transport really matters.  A couple years later after Bluesound integrated streaming from Tidal I picked up both an original Bluesound Node and a BDA-1 to go with it.  It was and still is a very good combo, but couldn't quite match the BCD-1.  It was only after I started using a Melco N1A as my NAS (effectively as my CD transport) that I was able to approach the BCD-1 level of performance.   

Jazzman, yes the transport matters. I probably should go that route 1st. Always a debate. I am going to take my time with this.

Given the quality of the BDA-1, I could purchase a transport 1st.
Then swap out the DAC later.

Given I have the DV137 I could purchase the DAC 1st and purchase transport later.

Seems your experience would suggest the transport should be 1st.

I'm just saying not to underestimate the role of the transport.
I also like the idea of controlling your variables and changing only one variable at a time. I know from experience just how good the BDA-1 is.  My suspicion is that when it comes to spinning discs, that your transport is currently the weaker link in your chain.  All things being equal,  DVD transports tend to introduce more jitter than dedicated Redbook CD transports. That is why so many high-end players are limited to doing Redbook CD only.  In my personal experience, the uptick in SQ feeding the BDA-1 from the BCD-1 was no where near as great as the SQ differential the BCD-1by itself had over the Denon 2910 / BDA-1 combo.

Jazzman, I very much appreciate your encouragement to not underestimate the role of transport. It is most likely that my DVD player used as transport is the weakest link for Cd playback, not the BDA-1. Thus, I am thinking towards the purchase of a CD only transport prior to purchasing a new DAC.

The question then becomes 'which one'?