Djlebaron, both the DR-1 and DA2b were trouble-prone but it's been 10+ years since I had them and don't really remember the particulars, just that I kept schlepping them back to C-J. And I gave away lots of CDs that wouldn't play in the transport but (as it turned out) were fine in every other player/transport. Sonically, the pair were REALLY laid back at (what I assumed to be) their best. This was pleasant enough to me at the time, though my friends were not kind AFTER I sold them.
The "I gotta sell these things" trigger came when I started listening to CDs on a cheap Pioneer 414 DVD player I already had -- it was briefly praised in this CD role in the Absolute Sound -- and could not believe how much better it sounded than the DR-1/DA2b combo.
No I didn't try the DA2b as a separate DAC, and should have. I assumed that the ultra "laidbackness" was a function of the DAC and frankly had lost all confidence in both it and the transport. Dave
The "I gotta sell these things" trigger came when I started listening to CDs on a cheap Pioneer 414 DVD player I already had -- it was briefly praised in this CD role in the Absolute Sound -- and could not believe how much better it sounded than the DR-1/DA2b combo.
No I didn't try the DA2b as a separate DAC, and should have. I assumed that the ultra "laidbackness" was a function of the DAC and frankly had lost all confidence in both it and the transport. Dave