Pioneer CD & DVD as Transports

Jafox,
You raise a really interesting point that digital cables have so much impact on overall results, and that so much commetary on various transports & dacs often mentions the cable as an afterthought.
My experiences w/analog interconnects & speakers lead me to similar conclusions. All this just makes it clearer that there is no easy solution, and it will take plenty of experimentation to get anything close to an optimal match within any target budget.

Audphile1,
Thanks for the well-written summary of the cables you've tried. For my particular situation, the Wireworlds are worthy of consideration. Right now I'm leaning towards an Ack DAC, which comes with its own digital cable, and they also sell/recommend Stereovox.
Curious to hear if any Ack users have compared their own to other ~$100 used digital cables.
Cheers,
Spencer

Spencer you're welcome. I tend to agree with Jafox. I used Sony S7700 for a transport and I am pretty sure that if you take the S7700 and a VD NiteII or Master digital cables, this combo will most likely beat a dedicated and more expensive transport not using such good digital cables. You should be able to distinguish between various cables easily. If you're looking at a cable in the price range under $200 then HDXV and WireWorld Supernova 5+ is pretty good. But if you want awesome sound, but can spend a little bit more money, there is one suggestion I got for you. e-mail me.

Thanks everyone. I just picked up a Pioneer Elite DV-45a on ebay for $150. Pretty happy with that. Still keeping my eyes open for a deal on a DAC. Ack, Audio & Scott Nixon are at the top of my list. The fact that the stock versions include battery power on the Ack seem to be keeping it leading the pack. Suggestions welcome, as long as we are talking ~$400 used/new price limit. Cheers,
Spencer

If you can find a Counterpoint DA-10A with the ultra-analog card upgrade at Audiogon or Ebay in your price range...grab it.

I'll rate it much higher than Jafox did above . I've compared mine using a pioneer transport and Apogee digital cable against two $3,000 players...at least a tie with both to my ear.

Dave