the dac in the music hall is a 24/96.when you use it as a transport its not 24/96.any time you can upgrade the dac, its going to be fun to hear the differ..remember this is a hobby. get a msb its low priced and upgradable,and if it blows you away,get a better one. any time you can get sep componants to do there on job,its going to be better.start with the power cord upgrade first .it doesnt cost much and it may help player out alot.build one yourself its fun and easy ..then look for dac.a sep transport is better but chances are it will have same phillips or sony drive in it any way.what interconnects are you using?