dac chip vs analog stage as to sonic impact

hi onhwy61, you are right, but it is that coloration that makes cd listenable.

Tvad...I'll take your word for that. Any others?

Tvad...Checking the APL website I notice that the DACs which they use for the update are AKM. That's what I have in my Behringer DAC2496 which may be why it sounds good.

Since APL appears to be the only modder that changes the DAC in a commercial player, perhaps one should view Alex Paychev's crediting 70% of total improvement to a DAC swap as relevant strictly to his own shop's choice of CDP and chosen regime of modifications. Certainly some DACs are better than others, but the gestalt of modded machine is a combination of many factors-- starting with a decent mule player. Allen Wright chose the SCD-1/777ES as its base platform because its transport & DAC sound great with a drop-in replacement analog stage & other mods. A Modwright 777ES with std. DAC is the player of choice in a cost-no-object Magico system recently reviewed by John Atkinson. Zanden builds a superlative DAC around an old Philips TDA-1541 chip. I've built a battery powered SCD-1 around the player's std. DAC; the sound of improved player barely ressembles the sound of the stock Sony. The improvement I gained is due about 30% to the replacement analog stage, 30% to transport mods, and 40% to power mods. So this question is likely reductio ad absurdum...

Dave