Does the Transport make a significant difference

I'm trying DAC straight into the amp via balanced cables and report my observations tomorrow. Thanks for the food for thought!

Ricred1, I have eliminated the preamp in my own system since last Winter: currently I have Esoteric X-01 transport via SPDIF into Rowland Aeris DAC.... into Rowland M925 monos via XLR.... into Vienna Die Muzik speakers. The sound is marvellously refined... And not at all edgy. All wiring is Nordost Valhalla II.

Guido

I connected the DAC directly to the amp and listened for a couple of hours. I strongly prefer the sound with the preamp. With the preamp, the music is simply more musical, detailed, and effortless. Trying to get a home audition of a decent transport to hear if it makes a difference in my system. In addition, I'm going to listen to a couple preamps and compare them to what I hear when I change transports. I'm really trying to determine the best way forward. I only want to spend 3-4K.

Hi RicRed, not all DACs are well suited for direct-to-amp operations... Hence, your mileage may vary.

you can also try a subtly different strategy... Combine DAC and preamp into a single box. E.g. Jon2020 has reported astonishingly good results with his Rowland Capri S2 preamp combined with its DAC card. Total investment just below $4K list. See this short thread:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1413730895&openmine&zzGuidocorona&4&5#Guidocorona

The Parasound P5 is a preamp with a DAC, but the PS Audio Perfectwave DAC 2, sounds significantly better. I don't have a problem with my DAC. I'm trying to find the best way forward. What is the better bang for the buck, new transport or preamp? Again, I want to spend 3-4K?