Cary 303 or Van Alstine?

I've had a Van Alstine for about a week, and I'm very impressed with it so far. I have not listened to other dacs in the same price range, however.

Jay- Definitely consider the Electrocompaniet EMC-1 CD player. They can be found at or below $2500 on the used market. The Cary 303 is quite good, but the EMC-1 is even better. Just my .02.

Make sure you hear the Cary 303 after a good break-in. It is startlingly good.

Haven't heard the Van Alstine, but I love my Cary 303. I'm really picky about my front end. The Electrocompaniet is a fine player, and so are others, such as models from Metronome. The Cary can be had for less money than the EMC-1, however, and there are dealers out there offfering good discounts on new 303s. Cary midrange magic with great bass??? Hard to pass up. Try one, be sure to break it in and use good cables.

Rackon,
It's done. I ordered a Cary 303 from Kevin Deal @ Upscale Audio a couple days ago, should be here within the week! Looking forward to hearing the diference compared to my Marantz cd63se 1 bit "MASH" player. I suppose now I'll need better wires, but maybe Ill be happy for a few months :-) Ill let you know how its going, Jay...