what are the Best Direct to amps Digital Players ?

Audiolabyrinth, I think you need to rethink your approach. Your parameters (<13K, single box, volume control, plays CDR, DVD-A) narrow the field to a very limited number of players (potentially zero). The problem is once you identified that player (a) you probably have to buy at full price, and (b) you are missing out on better options. So here is my thinking. Assuming rackspace is not an issue, it appears a single box is needed to avoid having to buy a pair of very pricey analog cables. Fair, enough. Just get a digital transport that meets your needs. Highly acclaimed PS Audio Perfect Wave transports are showing up in droves (nothing wrong with the transport, just many people moving away from spinning discs). Pick one up for $1,500 (MSRP = $4,000), and your in business. (of course you need a half decent digital cable - $500 tops). Now you have a very wide field of D/A converters with volume control to choose from, in your price bracket (you have around $10K left), and endless reviews / opinions. Also, you can now keep your eyes open for a used DAC that makes it to your shortlist.

First think to ask now is are you OK with digital VC, do you want analog VC, and if so how important is it is tube based. If you want tube, Aesthetix Pandora is a good option, and I'm sure there are others. If you want analog, you can get entry level MSB. A highly respected DACs with digital VC is Berkeley Audio design, well within your budget.

The advantage of this approach is you have many, many more options, and have access to the used market, and in my opinion you will end up with better sound for the money, simply because DACs is where the action and hence innovation is these days in high end audio.

It's seems crazy that someone who's system is outfitted with Tara labs zero gold would be limited to 13k retail for their source component. I think the other suggestion that you consider a transport is the right one. There is hardly a choice available or very limited for what you want.

@ Edorr, You are absolutly correct, I did pay alot less for my I/c and power cable than retail, I bought them here on the gon for a savings nobody has EVER heard of, atleast not me!, ,now I do have more money tied up with the rest of the cables, I also own the Taralabs the one i/c and speaker cables to be used on a second system when we rebuild that system, we sold that system to help buy the Taralabs zero gold i/c 1-meter, nothing wrong with buying used if you get the cable in question authenticated as I did,, It appears we have buying used in common, If I did go the approach you have mentioned I would settle for nothing less than the Tara zero gold digital cable, I would be un-happy if I down graded my sound to use a two box digital system, the field is wide open, I just need a volume control intergrated digital player, It can be cd/sacd, etc.. analog volume preferably, or high quality well made digital volume control, you know like transformer based volume control like the Ayon has got,, this may be temporary a couple of years untill I can get a $10,000.00 and higher cost point pre-amp, thats what it will take to out perform what I am doing here, I believe I love analog turn table sound, thats exspensive for what I would build one like,,Edorr, you are a very well seasoned audiophile, that makes it easy for me to talk to you, the reason I have such cables is to me they are an important componet in the system, your last post was spot on with me, funny, it was like you were psychic or something,LOL!, You are the best!, you have really helped me, thankyou, you are a gentleman!, I trust your recommendations as well, they are very sound!, keep the ideas rolling, I will look into what you said above, nothing is not under my micro-scope period that every one has said on this thread concerning digital, you have not gotten to my questions concerning the Esoteric k-03 and the Aestetix Romulus, Have you heard these units before?,, Happy listening.

Audiolabyrinth,

Since you're not too familiar with Aesthetix, I went to their website and had a look at their dealer page to see if I can recommend one that I know. It turns out that they only have 17 dealers in the US. Of those 17, I've done business with Audio Connection in NJ, Audio Center in FL, Sound by Singer in NY and Apex Audio in CO. I also bought something from Analog Shop in NY over the phone but I haven't been to the store. Singer is just OK (actually, I'm not sure if they are still in business), but the other 3 are exceptional. This tells me that they are one of those manufacturers that are very picky about who they allow to become dealers. Even though you haven't heard of Aesthetix, its a very popular brand and if they wanted to double or triple their number of dealers, they could do so almost over night. That's no guarantee that you'll get good service, of course, but for me personally, I would expect the dealer to be better than average.

Where I'm going with all this, is that your closest Aesthetix dealer is Audio Alternative in Liburn GA. Mapquest shows it to be about a 6 hour drive from Mobile. If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to plan a trip to the store. Call first if you decide to go, but its almost certain that Aesthetix requires that they keep a Romulus on display since there are so few dealers.

Also, some of the other posters recommend going with a transport/dac combo. I know you don't want to go that route, but there is a pretty decent case to be made for doing so. All I'm suggesting is that if you have the opportunity to demo separates in your search, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do some listening. Maybe even bring a CD player you know well for comparison. If anything, it will be a good learning experience.