Greeding to all DAC users

Mezmo is right. You won't get a real improvement with an older, less expensive DAC at your price point. You'd have to spend more to get more but it can be done.

Case in point: I was at a showroom this past weekend and also in attendance was a well known recording engineer of a very famous, esoteric label (which will remain nameless) and we listened to some of his recordings through some speakers he had brought over. The CD player was a top of the line Ayon ( I didn't realize it was THAT big).

After hearing the selection, we inserted a Centrance DACmini ($795), using the coax out from the Ayon, playing the same recording, and within the first 3 notes the recording engineer simply said "impressive'. The sound was better, IMHO (all of us, actually).

Keep in mind, every CDP will sound different (not necessarily better) with any DAC but we happened to hit it just right with this one pairing. Simply serendipity or blind luck-who knew? You must also take into consideration that newer technology can be just that: newer and sometimes better. I even think the coax cable cost more than the DACmini.

If you're not prepared to spend more and experiment with various gear and go down that rabbit hole, sticking with the Meridian would be a wise choice.
From what I hear its a damn fine player.

Thanks Mezmo, very pleased to hear directly from a member who has the same unit.

...I found that mine (yes, have one) was very sensitive to isolation...Proper isolation made a world of difference...

Yes, I agree, totally. I'm using an half inch metal floating balls isolation underneat the Meridian Cdp, and, although i have not tried the wood pieces from Cardas (too warmth for me?),I've tried diff types and i love this metal floating balls concept most.
No, I'm not quiet ready for PC-based transport just yet. I'm still torturing myself with 1 track or 1 disc per listening. :(

In short, if you picked up the Meridian for ~$1k, consider it a bargain and I suspect you will have a a real challenge improving on it's sound with an external DAC for less than what you paid for it... Me, ended up having to spend almost three times that...

So in conclusion, mating this cdp 508.24 with a used $350 DAC isn't a very WISE move then.

Happy listening to all.

You are better off to reclock the transport and use a cheaper DAC, like a NOS DAC. The master clock is more important than the DAC.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

If you have someone to implement a digital input on your Meridian(Modwright?), than you can use it with your Pioneer for 2ch decoding. You realy won't find better DAC for 5x the money you'll spend for any of external -- quit wasting time.