Do I really need a Dac?

Zd542: You missed my pitiful attempt at irony.:)
BTW, cars are not vintage products, but the model T is, even one recently built.

Your last statement is absolutely true and could not be stated more concisely!!
Cheers.

Guess what, my CD player just died. I guess I will now buy a CD player instead of a Dac, any recommendations for around a $1000.00. I am thinking of the Oppo line.

the oppo 1003 is the best bang for the buck. That's the one I just ordered. I think these things, all disc players, will fail sooner or later and / or become obsolete, so the key is to get the most for the least money. Oppo is a good choice. NO ONE has ever said anything bad about the oppo line. My marantz player died several months ago. I paid $300, and had it for 8 years. Just threw it in the garage and moved on. Now, if my $1000 dollar marantz had failed, I would be one sick puppy about now. "sound' is not a consideration. IMHO.
Cheers.

Donplatt - That your CD player just died is the perfect argument for getting a stand-alone DAC. The transports in CD players always die, usually just after the replacement laser assembly becomes no longer available, and unless the player has digital inputs that allow you to continue to use the internal DAC you're forced to trash the part of the purchase price for the player that went to the DAC.

Transports are disposable, like the tires on your car, they're good for only so many miles and then you walk away from them. DACs have no moving parts and while they may no longer be state of the art sonically they'll make music as long as you want to keep them.

I would recommend the Teac PD-H600, which can now be found new for under $600.00