dedicated cd player or dvd-cd

If it is 'new' perhaps it needs some time - say 100-200 hours. CD players can sound quite different once they've been played a bit; usually it is a noticeable improvement with brightness diminishing and a more fully formed body of music emerging, including improved bass. Can't hurt to run it 24/7 for a week or so and see what happens.

Also, try placing it on some brass footers like Mapleshade footers or the footers offered by Herbies Audio Labs. These, too, usually bring a noticeable improvement.

So, time and tweaking may be your first step before replacing it.

You'll find mhdt DACs listed on ebay by the maker. They are made in Taiwan I believe, and seem to have a lot of satisfied US customers.

I picked up both my Paradisea (tube) and Constantine (SS equivalent) second hand here on Agon.

Im not familiar with DACs,
will a better quality cd player do away with the need for one
or will it make any cd player sound better.

thanks

CD players have DACs in them. You can upgrade the entire player or use an external DAC and just use the player as a controller and transport. Upgrading the player is easier but may cost more to get to a certain quality of sound. A good external DAC that is jitter resistant can probably get you there for less. AN external tube DAC is a way to introduce the benefits of tube sound for minimal cost. I think a good tube DAC (under $1000, not necessarily expensive) is a very practical solution for those that would like their digital sources to sound more like their analog sources.