Hard Drive based system

Haven't decided on a DAC yet, but I was wondering if any had USB inputs.

Any recommendations (with or without USB in) for under $1000?

I mentioned two USB DACs in the previous post. Some people like the Apogee mini DAC better than the popular Benchmark DAC1 which I use and surely recommend.

I noticed that you mentioned Sony player in another thread. If you get it modded by TRL, it will be hard to find an affordable DAC to beat it, hard drive system or not.

I've been going back and forth about the TRL mod. I've read all of the glowing reviews, but haven't actually heard one. I guess I could have it modded and if I don't like it I could sell it.

But I need to decide which way I'm going to go first. Either the TRL modded Sony or the hard drive system. That's the reason I'm gathering the info on the hard drive stuff.

It sure would be nice to have 300-400 cd's at my fingertips. But if the TRL mod sounds that good, for that price, it's hard to pass up.

Interesting dilemma.

TRL's Sony mod is quite amazing for the price. My experience is with TRL/Sony 595. I assume your model will sound even better. On sonics alone, it will provide much bigger bang for the buck than a music server system for you, since you don't yet have a DAC.

I would recommend getting the TRL mod anyway and slowly building up a music server which is a lot of fun. When you find your favorite DAC, the music server will really sing for you.

The TRL mod is that good. I have a transport and DAC modified by TRL. I also had a USB interface device that I was using to play music from a HD via my TRL DAC. I won't mention vendor names but this is one of those modified M-Audio Transits and I have to say I was disappointed in the results. The full TRL set-up was better in my system.

Here is a thought. My transport is an Alesis ML9600 that can also serve as a CDP, digital recording and mastering tool, and HD storage/playback system. For about $1500 including the mods TRL will modify the Alesis and give you an excellent digital set-up. Paul Weitzel has done some more work on this unit since I puchased mine and I will be sending it back for the upgrade (free I might add which is TRL standard practice). Why not call and talk to Paul about this and see if the Alesis would work for you.