New amp or new cd player?

Magnumpi205 is right... I have an oppo too. it's performance level, arguably, came within 20-25% of my older xa 777es.

BTW the xa was $3K MSRP. The oppo DV 980H cost $175 shipped.

The comparison was closer with each going thru a good DAC... to the point where it became difficult for me to argue it with myself.

In essence, I've now got $2000 or so into a CDP playback system. But better performance, and lots better flexibility with differing formats and functions.The DAC even made my mega CDP sound lots better with only a cheap optical cable on it.

I tried out a friend's Oppo 980 and was not impressed with the digital output through my DAC. It was OK but was handily spanked by my Modwright 999es. There may have been something amiss as I later tried an Oppo 983, which I still have. Same digital cable, same DAC, same system - outstanding performance from that transport / interface. Alas, I no longer have the Modwright to compare it to. I was also disappointed with the DVD video performance of the 980, but to be fair did not tweak it much. The 983 video is outstanding - the very best I've seen just short of Blu-Ray. I can understand the video performance being better, but really don't get why the transport performance is so markedly different. From the standpoint of the 983 I'd strongly endorse the Oppo option. Once their BluRay player comes out you'll surely see many on the used market.

Also on the used market, at just above $1K a Modwright platinum signature truth Sony will be kicking butt and taking names.

IC's do certainly make a difference and Monster would be easy to improve upon, however, my opinion differs in that I'd still get rid of the player first as the investment there has potential to yield more given a $1K+ budget. There are also inexpensive IC options that may better your Monster. Signal, Blue Jeans, Anti-cable, are just a few that come to mind. On the used market for a song. Again, I'd suggest auditioning some options to make sure you can hear and care about the difference. There is definitely a diminishing point of return on investment and that will vary with every individual.

Definitely get a better source! But, as mentioned above, if your cables aren't up to snuff, you aren't getting the most out of your system. I had a Consonance Reference 2.2 (6H30 tubed CDP) which sell for around $700 used: a very decent unit. I then went to a upgraded Sony DVP-9000es model with Vacuum State level 6 mods. Sure, it sounded a little better, but I wasn't hearing everything. due to other problems in the chain (cables, lack of room treatments, noisy preamp). Since I have dialed in my system, the difference in the new CDP are obvious: it is so much more dynamic, instruments are layered, the soundstage is extended. But, I had to have the rest of my system at that (very high) level to really allow the player to come into it's own.

It is kind of like a car: you may have a big engine and great suspension, but if your tires are bald or your gas tank leaks, you won't be going very far or very fast. Upgrading one thing at a time doesn't yield obvious results at first: you will need a system that is at the level of that upgrade to really appreciate it.

Looking at the rest of your system, pick up a $1000-1500 (used) source, even better if it is a modded Sony (Modwright or Vacuum State) as you will get great bang for the $ with either one of those. Modded players don't hold resale value well: bad for the re-seller, but good for you! A stock player at that price won't touch a well-modded unit: you would have to spend 2-3x as much.

I also agree with the cable idea: some good cables available for under $100 used, especially if it is sold internet-only. I would also put money into room treatments: the best money I have ever spent on my system is for room treatments. Getting a $1000 CDP and dropping $500 with GIK Acoustics will be much more rewarding than spending $1500 on a used CDP.

James,

If you live near audio stores, I would try to audition the gears suggested so far, in your system, in your room, and see which one you like.

In the end, that's the important thing, isn't it - that y o u enjoy it.

As someone suggested, using computer as the source is also a fun option - you can have your entire library at your finger tip.

You can also stream from sights like rhapsody and www.deezer.com (free sight), and have millions of songs at your finger tip - not even kings of the past had that !

If you want to go this rout, check these links here on audiogon :

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1232064736&openflup&1&4#1

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?icomp&1&ctg&3&&

I hope I am not confusing you with more choices, but you can get good sound from your computer, and it's so convenient !

I see the interconnects as your first weak link. You should do some swapping and breaking in. Those IC's could be choking the sound before your McIntosh even gets ahold of the signal. Try some Kimber Heroes or something from Transparent that's about the same or a little higher quality level than your WaveLengths.

Next, is it just me, or are high priced CD players a wrong-headed approach to digital sound? So much of the cost of an expensive CD player goes into getting a jitterless read off the polycarbonate disc, which itself is prone to built-in jitter plus the jitter that results from reading from a spinning piece of plastic. Why not go for a playback system that minimizes or eliminates jitter from the equation?

Examples:

Get a Lavry or Benchmark DAC. I'm not sure about the Lavry, but the Benchmark does its own re-clocking, so any jitter in the initially read data stream should largely be irrelevant. With that in mind you could continue to use your Onkyo as a transport. Or get an Oppo DV-980H for a whopping $169.

Get a Macintosh laptop and use it as a server. I think iTunes 8.0 or later on a MacBook (playing lossless digital music files) sounds better than a lot of CD players.

If you go with a computer-based solution, you can also improve the sound with a USB-based DAC such as the Benchmark DAC-1 USB or something (far more expensive) from Wavelength.

Get one or two iPod Classics to use as servers. Using ALC you could fit about 250 GB (420 hours) of lossless music on each one. Get a Wadia iTransport to extract the digital data stream and send it to a good DAC.