New CDP or new DAC?

Cheapest and shortest path?
New CDP. Period.
No additional IC to buy… no added worries as to the power cord on the DAC either.

My plan? Do Both…. IF….

IF you aren’t spending heavily on the CDP, especially. Transports do matter but you gotta really step up the donation at the ‘Transport store’ to really see gains there. My former Sony SCD 777 ($3K) and a known as a very good transport if not a great one, was maybe 20% or less better sounding than my $175 Oppo DV 980H, using both a Bel Canto DAC III, and a Lavry D10.

There was about eight years of tech gains across that span inside the Oppo. The Sony was made in 2001. soooooo…. Also, my Sony required a motor and laser replacement after five or six years of ‘go to’ near daily use too.

For DACs. Especially those with a wealth of interfaces, and great jitter reduction significant gains can be had just adding one of them… and a cable or two.

DACs are a nice spot to go for immediate improvements in sound quality…. IF, again, it has great jitter reduction prowess… and if picked out might aid you down the road, should use of a file playback system is desired.

Digital world revolves really fast, So, a new CDP could be the one box solution

But, If DAC, definitely Coax…

If nice CDP & DAC…. BNC, or AES cables.

I vote for new DAC.

Having to repair well over a hundred CD players, all but a very few came down to the tray/laser assembly. Considering what I hear the street price for those who engage in that kind of repair today, I don't want to invest a large part of the cost of the machine in the power supply and output section knowing the part that reads the disc has as high a failure rate as it does.

Beyond that, a good friend who buys really expensive stuff picked up a PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC. He tried various transports, and found the cheap Oppo he had in a third system gave up nothing to the more expensive units tried, and every combination he tried bested his almost new $20K CD player. No surprise in his selling CD player pretty quickly after that.

At least with the PS Audio, because the DAC reconfigures the digital signal, the transport can be factored out of the equation. Great news in my opinion, as perhaps the weakest link in the audio chain is being taken away from us. Until recently, that has the exception and not the rule, but it's clear that the industry is going toward that.

First why are you even looking at equipment reviews. Waste of time. IMO and in my experience a DAC always out performed a CDP. There are so many used DACs to try. Find yourself one of the Museatex Bitstreams. You can buy them and sell them with no loss.

Happy Listening.

There are a lot of opinions on the best approach for this scenario. There are those that believe that a transport is a transport and it is just the DAC that is important.

There are those that believe a great DAC with a mediocre transport results in the "weakest link" philosophy - ie. the great DAC's performance cannot be realized with a "mediocre" transport. FYI - I am in this camp.

There are good recommendations and comments above, so mine shouldn't be taken any differently than any other.

My recommendation would be to add to your list of options the idea of a better CDP with digital inputs. There are a lot of good players out now that fit this bill. This approach gives one the flexibility to add a computer based system. I also think it is easier to justify spending a little bit more via this approach - ideally ending up with a better and more flexible piece.

Good luck.

I too suggest a DAC and suggest the USB route via an Apple MacMini. Right now, I have three MacMini/DAC combinations on three systems and have sold my CDPs.

Careful selection of the DAC (I have the dbaudiolabs Tranquility and Tranquility SE, both of which are immensely pleasing in my systems, and the UltraFi iRoc, a little hidden jewel of the past); the USB cabling (suggest a listen to Ridge Street Audio, Locus Audio, or dbaudiolabs' Essential), interconnects and power cords; peripheral HD (I suggest Oyen; and playback software (iTunes is very good, but Pure Audio is much better) will yield results only very expensive CDPs can produce.

I know this sounds like a lot, but once it's set up, it's far more convenient and musically capable than a CDP. Look for items on Audiogon, talk to fellow DAC-ers, ask yourself what you want, and seek it out... I would never go back to a CDP.

:) listening,

Ed