Jump in now or wait?

I am wrestling with it as well, Dokosan. I think your post is timely. I am looking to upgrade my digital source, and keep going back and forth between excellent players such as the Marantz SA-7S1 and the Abbindgon AMR CD77 (my top two contenders on the CD side), versus going to PC Audio, with a top notch combination such as the Wavelength DACs or the new kid on the block, the Berkeley Alpha DAC, and a decent music server.

Of late, I am leaning toward the latter, as I read more and more testimonials as to the quality of these setups. As much as I like the idea of having my large CD collection at my fingertips, sound quality is the ultimate priority for me. I am trying to arrange some auditions, but of course there are certain logistical difficulties with this.

I appreciate your post, and do hope others will chime in with their thoughts and experiences.

I'm waiting. I'm waiting till there is a wide variety of high resolution downloads available and the hardware and software has been improved over the first generation stuff.

I don't have a problem with playing cds though, and have no desire to rip my collection to a hard drive.

Well you might consider the just released DAC1 pre. But obviously they're going to keep releasing new products every so often. I don't expect any significant advances in sound as we haven't really seen that over the past 5 or even 10 years IMO. All I really see is more refining and voicing to a particular designers tastes. You might as well go ahead and buy otherwise you'll always be waiting for the next thing.

The DAC1 usb seems to hold it's value. At that price range I don't see too much change. The Benchmark is a piece of pro gear with less mark up than audiophile equipment- hard to beat it. I've been waiting to find a reasonable upgrade for mine. Mostly it is because it is the cheapest part of my rig, and I feel I should ;).

Wireless is correct. The PC as a source, the whole arena of digital playback for that matter, is mature enough that there will be no huge improvements. This is not first generation stuff, it is a variation on technology that has existed for over 20 years. If you wait for a "wide variety of high resolution downloads" you may be waiting forever. We've had SACD and DVD-A for years and there still isn't what I would call a wide variety available on those two.

Get in now.