Greeding to all DAC users

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.