I *have* heard a $1K CD/SACD player that was very impressive in sounding dynamic and natural--the Marantz SA8004. However, now that asynchronous USB DACs are available at every price point, I think the more cost-effective--and convenient--solution is to put together a laptop-based server with a 3rd-party software solution (e.g., Audirvana Plus, JRMC, Songbird, or Amarra) that:
o Adjusts the upsampling rate to the source sample rate
o Has "hog mode" to turn off unnecessary background processes
o Enables you to buffer the music file to RAM before decoding
Anybody remember the Genesis Digital Time Lens? That was an $1100 component that provided 512K RAM to buffer the digital data stream before reclocking it to the DAC. Today, for $50 Audirvana Plus enables you to buffer up to 7.9 GB in RAM, turn off the background processes, AND control the up sampling algorithm.
Even without an external DAC, these improvements are significant, and all of them bypass the jitter encoded in many CD pressings plus the jitter that comes from reading the CD. Add an asynchronous USB DAC and you can get high quality jitter-free decoding as well, not to mention all the music server convenience features hosted on a laptop.
o Adjusts the upsampling rate to the source sample rate
o Has "hog mode" to turn off unnecessary background processes
o Enables you to buffer the music file to RAM before decoding
Anybody remember the Genesis Digital Time Lens? That was an $1100 component that provided 512K RAM to buffer the digital data stream before reclocking it to the DAC. Today, for $50 Audirvana Plus enables you to buffer up to 7.9 GB in RAM, turn off the background processes, AND control the up sampling algorithm.
Even without an external DAC, these improvements are significant, and all of them bypass the jitter encoded in many CD pressings plus the jitter that comes from reading the CD. Add an asynchronous USB DAC and you can get high quality jitter-free decoding as well, not to mention all the music server convenience features hosted on a laptop.