If your whole system costs $40,000....

respectfully, since price is an imperfect indicator of quality, i agree it's kinda silly to choose a component on the basis of a formula, as opposed to what sounds/looks/feels best to you. there are credible people who maintain that a <$1k rotel or oppo sounds just as good as a megabuck cdp and other credible people who really can hear the improvement inherent in a $5k player. personally, i concur with rdavwhittaker above--i've heard enough great $2k players that i wouldn't be inclined to spend more. which isn't to say, of course, that there's no difference between a great $2k player and a great $5k player--it's an issue of whether the degree of improvement is cost-justified to you.

Grandetech

Don't lose faith. There are a lot of members here who are very helpful and willing to share their knowledge. Few can be mean but don't let that deter you.

In my secondary system my CDP and DAC comprised 11% of my total amount paid for my system.

In my primary system my Digital player was 13% of the total amount of money spent on it.

I really didn't plan it that way though. That is just how my system ended up. I was paying more attention to how the music was sounding while keeping in mind what people have said here about component synergy and that even the weakest link in a system can make music sound crappy.

$40,000 to spend on an audio system. Whew. That must be real nice.

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Jed,

I assume you include me when you say "few can be mean?"

Why is it mean to offer an honest opinion that disagrees with his approach? I and others were trying to help him develop a strategy for choosing a component that fits his system.

In fact, the way you went about choosing your components is exactly what I and others are advocating. Does that make you one of the few that are being mean to him?

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Hi Map,

Yes, still with the Mirage OMD-28. The thing that made the difference was changing to a solid state preamp, new balanced interconnects (tried several -amp to preamp) and magnet wire speaker cables and interconnect (not anticables). These changes brought in more bass, fullness, and clarity. I've been pursuing all three. I won't say my system sound has arrived. I'm still tweaking. Finally found some cables that made an appreciable difference.

For roughly 12-percent of $40,000, you can put together a music server that will rival CD playback systems costing as much as 50-percent of your $40,000 system ($20,000).
For less than $5,000, you can purchase a new comprehensive high-end music server (player/renderer, controller, server/source, WiFi router and cabling).

If digital music is your primary source for listening to music, your digital source is then a fundamental link in your system chain (not a place to skimp). Therefore, I think 10-percent, in your case, should be a minimum.