Upgrade transport and lose Genesis Lens?

really good question.....digital is in a really unique place right now....all in one units sound great, dacs with usb/firewire input, transports are challenged by computer hard drive based music server... i would speculate there has been a overall major improvement with jitter reduction the last couple years across the board..

have a couple questions....

1. have you tried the dac & transport with the aq hawk ?
2. what power cords are you using on the lens, dac, and transport ?

i would have to agree with everyone above.. you have a couple diferent options..try a different dac and maybe transport or a all in one(etc..ayre), different cable.

btw, the electrocompinet dac is a absolute steal for $1700 new and $1100 used, it is really a breakthrough digital product, it took a audio aero prima dac II (3x the cost) to better it..

the genesis lens is a fascinating device... i was really tempted to try one but to do so runs about $1200-$1500 (used lens, extra digital cable, power cable, and isolation). though i havent tried one, i would think you would have to use a identical digital cable.. i think (speculation again) the genesis is better with older 16 bit transports (it adds 2 extra bits extending it to 18 bits).. i would be interesting to hear the genesis with a current transport (and compare againest dcs purcell or gw labs upsampler)

in looking at it, you could experiment with what sounds best either a different dac and/or transport, cable, player... it just comes down to finding out what is local (auditioning dacs, transports, and digital cables is really hard if not impossible, you pretty much have to buy blind and try....all in one players are much easier to audition...

are there any other local audiphiles or shops who can help out ?

To answer MikeSingers questions, I can't use the Audioquest Hawk with the PS Audio Ultralink because it doesn't have balanced digital inputs. For power cords I use the Zu Bok on all units, and a Monster Stage 2 power conditioner. I am in New York City so I'm sure there are tons of dealers but I don't know any right now. I didn't know you could take a setup to a dealer for AB testing. If you know of any leads that would be great as also. I was thinking that maybe the Audioquest Hawk was flattening out the signal before it got to the Lens so maybe I should just buy another Oracle. I haven't heard Nordost Valhalla, but I've heard that the Oracle outperforms it by far and is one of the best out there. As for dacs, I'm pretty sure a better DAC would improve the sound also, but there is such a big difference in overall quality with the DAC I have when the Oracle runs straight to the transport. If I get a new DAC, surely it would still exhibit the same degree of clarity change that I see from the Oracle/Lens/Hawk/Meridian combo to the Oracle/Meridian combo. The Lens does have the added 3 dimensionality and warmth that I like but currently at the cost of more clarity and detail.

what terminations are you using with amp/pre (rca/xlr) ?

Kleonard, Two simple ideas:
Join one of the NYC metropolitan area audio clubs to have access to personalized assistance, minus any NYC retail sales pressure. A club member might even make a "housecall" to work with you.
If you like to attend audio events, check out the announcement for the VTV Audio and Music Expo May 6-7 in neighboring New Jersey.
Either way, you'll hear some fine equipment to which you may be attracted, if you don't hear all you want with your present multi-unit approach. I am satisfied with my systems, but would not hesitate to start over with a great all-in-one if I felt at all bewildered by what to change to get the desired sound.

Thanks I'll check out that club.
re:what terminations are you using with amp/pre (rca/xlr) ?
I use rca terminations on my preamp, which is a Headroom Max headphone amp.