Oppo 105 or PS Audio PWD Mk2

The PSA PW DAC MK II and PW Transport will (using the I2S connection) meet your requirements and make you very happy. It is of course more $$ then the Oppo. But the Oppo plays BD, SACD, DVD- Audio and now DSD. However the PW MK II will also play HiRez PCM files besides CD. It is also upgradable when new features are added.

My recommendation is put all your CD on a hard drive (with backup) and play through the PW DAC MK II with Bridge and save the money vs the transport. As great as the PW Transport is it is possible to get great sound with the right server and the PW DAC MK II with Bridge.

Given your comment concerning the Esoteric your taste may be very similar to mine. I`d recommend the Oppo 105 and then get the Modwright modification. You`ll have world class natural sound for very 'reasonable' money.This unit is high resolution with excellent musicality.
Regards,

Hegeifman,

I do not want to appear to be a total dunce; and certainly know the difference between a DAC and a CD player.

The problem is the listening experience for me requires that I get to hold an album or jewel case so that I can read about the artist to which I am listening.

Depending on who you talk to, the CD is dead. I personally do not believe that for a minute. However, I am interested in understanding if a good DAC could be a better choice for me than a new cd player.

Trouble is the DACs seem to be associated with some sort of computerized hi rez source and the review is more about all that s**t rather than describing how the DAC really sounds.

I mentioned the Oppo and the PS Auduio units because they both seem to have good reviews and are two different approaches.

What I really want to know is if there is a good DAC out there that is sonically equal to or better than $5K CD players from Ayre, Ayon, ARC, etc.

Another question is whether the PS Audio DAC really needs a great trasport if the fancy lens and native X is so great.

Dspr: i can relate to enjoying reading about the artist/album while listening. depending on the controller used to run the psa bridge, i've found just as much if not more to read with J River mc18 on my ipad3. countless photo's and histories are a click away (in or outside j river via the web). and all on a nice hi res screen.

i think the pwd (1&2) sounds slightly better with the pwt then the bridge. it's not evident 100% of the time comparing redbook cd's but is (to my ears) with hi res wav burned to dvd. it's such a small difference, i still use the bridge 85-90% of the time. pwt is only used for critical listening...something i rarely do anymore.

i think the pwdmk2 can "sound as good" as many of the much higher priced dacs and/or cd players out today...if it's matched to your liking via supporting cast. it lets the music out beautifully with little/no signature of its own imho. it's very sensitive to tweaks too. more so then any piece of gear i've ever owned. cables (pc and ic), power supple, vibration all leave their "signatures" on the pwd very easily....not to mention the stereo components themselves (and even fuses for gods sake lol)

i have no doubt you can achieve the sound you like with the pwd. you might need to play around with your set-up a bit to get there.

have heard alot of good things about the oppo. from what i understand...it's a steal of a deal that sounds great. yet to hear one so i really can't comment.

good luck

Dsper - Reading your concerns, I think that the Oppo 105 w/ Modwright mods, as suggested by Charles, is a very strong choice.