"Old" vs. "new" digital equipment

With CD being the "Flawed" source it is, it is amazing how much money we spend trying to make a format better. I know I have over the years. The problem is, as you go up in quality, the more flaws become apparent. If you offer every last degree of transparency in a player, you might not like what you ultimately hear. I suppose the best players are for the best CD's only. Otherwise, we have surpassed the quality of the source itself (and for what?)
With that said, some CD's just don't sound natural and all the CD players in the world are not going to change that.
Contrary to what a lot believe, SACD is the better format and strings sound realistic (of course they are poor SACD's too.) Go for pure DSD. I know SACD is a niche market but there's still a lot out there available and it does sound better (lot of the music you are refering to here.)
Otherwise, good vinyl is the only way to go.
I think you will chase your tail and spend a lot of money with CD and never get where you want to be.
I used the Vandersteen 3a Sigs with a pair of 2WQ's for years and your system is very good. My suggesdtion would be to upgrade your preamp to a ARC Reference II or III. I personally feel it would be money well(better) spent (other than on a CD player.) You would be surprised at the improvement over the older ARC preamp.
If you MUST go for a new CD player, I would spring for a Wadia 861 or 861se. They go around less than 5k for the 861 and a touch over for the se model(which is a substantial upgrade.) If they don't sound correct, you're just out of luck with CD!

I'll say it again-"without exceptional power conditioning & isolation of your digital souces AC" you simply have not heard 'anywhere near' the potential of CD playback.
WADIA 581 provides "twin 'fully balanced' sheilded toroidal transformers that are electrically, mechanically and accoustically isolated from the other components"...
Bigtee, not to argue, I continue to find that enhanced digital playback makes "most" of my CD's more enjoyable, revealing more of the artists 'art' and depth of sensitivity-and I'm feel we have not reached the playback potential of digital sound yet. Just reviewed the April/May TAS and found interesting items in digital playback. I too preferred the sound quality of SACD.Cheers

I will second Psacanli's observation that quality AC conditioning is a must. I would further add, try experimenting with vibration control devices for all components. Good listening. Jeff

Bigtee,

Thanks for your thoughts. I am thinking about preamps as well, just not the subject of this thread. The Ref II and III are definitely on the short list there. I know that I will hear improvement with a newer preamp, although my LS2B and I have been happy for quite a while. You and eweedhome may be correct that there comes a point where more transparency and information isn't such a good thing. BTW, eweedhome, I would be interested in hearing how you like your EAR CDP when it arrives. Maybe you will post about it?

Psacanli, I am running dedicated power lines with digital separate from other components, but no other line conditioning. Maybe I will try to borrow something from a friend and see what I hear.

Yoby, I am using SRA stands to address vibration -- big difference with and without.

Anyone have thoughts on the differences I might hear between my (old) Theta and newer DACs and/or CDPs? I understand that at some point we bump up against format limitations, but I am wondering if newer and cheaper DACs are going to give me improvements compared to my older technology (even though they may not make strings sound like strings or strings on vinyl). If so, what kind of improvements? That was my original question, although I appreciate the other information you all have given.

I don't have easy access to other digital equipment at this point to audition, which is why I am trying learn from others' experience. Thanks again.

David

Over the next few days I will be comparing a Bel Canto Dac 3 to a Theta GEN V. I wish it had an optical input, I could just hook it to the PC. I'll have to test using a basic Denon DVD player instead.