Yes,another DAC question

I own the PS Audio PerfectWave DAC and transport...it soundly beat a modded Meitner Bidat/ CEC transport combo as well as a T + A $5K CDP. I'm getting the MK II upgrade next month and this should take it to an even higher level. The PW transport is essentially a memory player and, according to many, is simply the best transport you can buy for SQ when used with its I2S connection. I have friends who replaced their Esoteric and Mark Levinson transports with the PW. A new retail MKII DAC and transport will retail for $8k in January.

If you have no need for a transport and you want to spend all of your budget on a DAC, I would audition the Bel Canto 3.5 vb and the midrange MSB dacs in addition to the dCS.

Personally, I set my budget limit for digital at $5k because of the current pace of innovation. I think some people are going to be shocked by how quickly some very pricey units are going to look "old" when compared to affordable DACs on the horizon. I could well be wrong, but it's already crazy what you can get for $1,000 compared to what that would get you just a year ago.

I think a dedicated CD player, especially an expensive one, could be a big mistake. Music sourced from computers/hard drives driven through the better software and lastest DACs already seems to be matching and even bettering what some of the best dedicated players are capable of with CDs much less what the hi-rez downloads can produce (read the latest Absolute Sound article on what the current capabilities are with J River, Jplay, etc.). So I'd advocate going the DAC route with an eye toward the future. Whether it's Weiss, Bel Canto, dcs, etc., only you can decide, but I think at least some of them have demonstrated an ability to upgrade to maybe lessen the price of avoiding future obsolescence.

Personally I haven't gotten my computer audio source off the ground yet, but it's so obvious it's going that way that it's pretty silly to live in denial any longer. Best of luck in whatever you choose.

Lol. Spend half of that on a computer/dac combo and get better sound than any cdp, and give the rest to feed the homeless.

Check out the well reviewed Ayon CD5s, can be had in your price range. Is computer ready and has transport, DAC and preamp all in one, making for a cleaner signal path.

You already have a great tube Tri CD player. I'll probably try upgrading the caps and 12AU7 tube of the Tri CDP first. Although I have not used any DAC with my system.