Any DAC better than the MF A324 Upsampler?

Rooze,
One thing to try would be to get a used Bitstream DAC and send it to John Wright for his latest modifications. You will be very well within your price range and have the sound that will beat most SACD players.

Hi Rooze
Have you tried a different power cord, the eichmann express is great, also i was wondering exactly what it was about the a324 performance that your not keen on . I have the a324 and am very pleased , i have heard the a324 vs trivista 21 side by side and there is an improvement but to me not enough to blow my socks off.

Thanks for input so far, I think the MF sounds ok, but not great. I ran it side by side with my EAD 7000, and given that the EAD was 6/7 yrs old and didn't do the upsampling thing, I was expecting to hear more of an improvement.
The EAD seamed a little warmer, a little more analog sounding and had a little more in the bass. It didn't have the same degree of air, detail and transparancy as the MF, which was ultimately the reason for changing, but I figure there has to be a reasonably priced DAC that has analog warmth with detail and transparency. I guess when I listen to good SACD recordings, they have that warmth and analog feel that I'm looking to get from CD, within the constraints of the medium of course.

Steam - I haven't tried changing power cords, so I'll give that a whirl over the weekend, I was a 'cable skeptic' but I'm slowly coming around to the possibility that they make a difference!!
Nate - I can't argue with the TT pitch, I will probably end up with another vinyl setup in the near future.

Rooze

The museatex bidat. If you can find one. One sold on audiogon for $3000 recently. If you ar elucky, you may get one for a bit less.
It's the best redbook CD playback i have ever heard...bar none. Check out posts on audio asylum.
-abajaj11

Hi Rooze
yes for shore try a different power cord , maby from your local dealer or a buddy, it may lead to nothing but its worth a shot, i have used many different interconnect cables and mains cables over the years and each one has its strengths, i live in australia and there are some great cable companys manufacturing down here, look at EICHMANN, CAWSEY,SONICARTAUDIO, TMC CABLES, or look at audioreview.com for some reviews on the above companys. good luck and all the best from western australia.