Which cd players have digital INPUT?


What cd player out there that you LOVE has digital input?

A lot of us would benefit from cd players that have digital input. Perhaps you have not (yet) abandoned physical media but you are also using PC based audio or Squeezebox, etc...

You would like to have a high quality external DAC without adding extra boxes and extra cables and without tieing up an additional preamp input. (My favorite interconnects are $600/pair on the USED market. Ouch! I'd rather put that money towards a combined cd player / DAC with input).

I know that the alternative is to use an external transport with one single DAC. That is yet another box, more cabling, and potential for jitter or clocking problem...

As for me, my current cd player Cary 308T (the older tube output model, not the current 303T) does NOT have digital input. ALAS! I love the sound. Visitors to my home jaws drop.

I notice that cheaper cd players lack digital input but also some well known ones such as a very popular (with Audiophiles) Sony universal model (I forget the number) also LACK digital input.

Personally I'm especially interested in tube output units but they are few and far between....

Is it possible that combined cd player / DAC's don't have DAC's that are all that effective when fed digital input externally? What's your experience?

Ok, guys (gals?), what cd player out there that you LOVE has digital input?

Art
artmaltman
The glorious AMR CD-77 has a USB input. On popular demand, AMR have finally given in and now also offer an optional S/P DIF input (not sure whether the USB remains in place when one opts for S/P DIF, check with AMR). You'll get the full benefit of the six DAC operating modes (from filterless direct to 192KHz upsampling) that you can change "on the fly" from the remote. The less expensive AMR CD-777 shares all these features, more actually, the 777 has both USB and S/P DIF standard. Both have tube output stages.
Wadia 861xi has multiple digital inputs.

An issue with plugging an external source into a cd player is clock jitter.
Esoteric SA50 has multiple digital inputs and sounds exceptional.
(disclaimer: I am a reseller)
Anyone in the Charlotte area wants to hear one shoot me an e-mail.
I own Alesis ML9600 available at musicianfriend.com
Excellent performer that sounds more defined and rigid than most high-res players sold here. It's mostly sold on pro audio market places.