[oqpi]

That is correct Jay... I experienced it fully....
What happened... I am an audiophile for over 40 years.. owning multiple audio systems.. but at the moment they are all far away, as we moved to Southern California two years ago..
And i had only my Grado headphones to get some of my music from a laptop...
Finally we decided to get an audio system... and started reading reviews online.. then going to some stores in LA area... and we were surprised to hear such a bad sound from 10-20-30K dollar system (!!?).. what to do..??
I decided to go on a path.. which I recommend to anyone who is on a limited budget for audio... get a good mids-highs sounding speakers (bookshelves could be nice, but still floor stands are better).. then get a good integrated amp WITH SUBWOOFER OUTPUT... that is key... why?.. because the small speakers with small drives cannot reproduce high fidelity bass sound... no way... impossible... cannot be against the laws of physics...
so, i've got a pair of Monitor Audio RX6... with an Outlaw RR2155 Receiver and THE Ultra-X12 sub.... the Outlaw receiver has a great crossover for the sub feed... (100Hz-80Hz-60Hz setup) and this makes a $2400 US system to sound like a 50k USD system, or better... why??... because there is actually 2 amplifiers working there.. the receiver's and the sub's... and 70% of the power always is taken by the woofers.. anywhere.. in any audio.... and for that you need bi-amping and that kinds... with eventuallly monoblocks.. get the idea how much money would that cost ???
and i solved it with under $2500 US...
BUT... you are right about the laptop USB as a source... it is unbelievable noisy, crappy... all messed up sounding... chopping the music, like in a meat grinder....
honestly... after all my gear arrived, I was depressed with the sound !!... from the laptop... i didn't have a CD player in the home yet....
and I started to read about external DACs and stuff... thinking that maybe Outlaw's internal DAC is not too good... BIG MISTAKE !!....
luckily, I've got in touch with the people from Schiit Audio.... and they (Nick T) explained to me how noisy USB ports can get.. and how hard it is to keep the power constant in a USB port.. etc...
so, instead of recommending me their $500 DAC... Nick told me what the little cute WYRD does... it actually cleans and stabilizes the USB power to a perfect 5.0 VDC value... and that will allow the digital signal to travel nicely from the PC USB port to whatever DAC you have.... WOWWWWW !!!!
so i got the WYRD box ordered... and wouldn't believe what happened..!?..
(in the meantime i also odered the Onkyo C-7030 CD player too... came at the same time)
I could compare.... CD played by CD player.. and the WAV file (uncompressed) played by the laptop...
two different sources, two different paths.. same music... same time in parallel, switching from "USB" to "CD".. on the reciever...
AND I COULD NOT FEEL ANY DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER !!!!!!... NONE!!.... NADA !!!... AND BOTH SOUND GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!
the detail, soundstage.. dynamics and frequency range are better than what i've heard in the stores with Rotel, or MacIntosh amps and Martin Logan, or B&W speakers, costing 20-30 times more !!.. if you dont believe me, come and listen... honestly....
And again.... you are right.. USB needs a WYRD inserted in between the PC and the DAC.... no question.... you will be amazed...
And also... some good under $1,500/ pair  speakers need a receiver with Subwoofer output and a powered sub woofer......... and you will be thrilled !!!!!
Here is my system:....
                                           https://picasaweb.google.com/109243130858369011279/BestAudioSystemThatHonestMoneyCanBuy?authuser=0&feat=directlink

 

[oqpi]

A few things I've learnt in the past 3 months:
 
1) USB path from a computer to a DAC needs to be cleaned...no question... either the DAC has circuitry included for that, or, otherwise, you need an external USB cleaner...
Most receivers' internal DACs do not have a USB-port cleaner... perhaps the most of the external DACs don't have it neither!!!...
Here is where the great WYRD made by Schiit Audio comes into place..!!!.. 
This cute, little box made an audio system, sourced from the PC, via USB, to sound identical with a CD player...
And, after what I went through, I believe it is quite an accomplishment... 
I thank and congratulate Schiit Audio for it..!!!!!.
 
2) You can get a great, ample, full-rich sound with an inexpensive system, if you incorporate nice sounding floor stands (I recommend Monitor Audio, for the detail, precision, depth, high frequencies and dynamics) with a good powered subwoofer...
That was the reason I chose the Outlaw stereo receiver, because it has very solid final stage, finesse in sound and a subwoofer specialized output... and of course the USB DAC inside... which needs an extra $99 WYRD.... but it's worth it....
 
3) I've listened to Vandersteens.. nice speakers... driven by Audio Research monoblocks.... the whole system costing around $100k.....
And I can tell for sure.. it sounds muffled and lazy, very little dynamics, laid back,... with some soundstage, yes.. but man... too little to deliver for so much money (!!??).... compared to what I have in front of me right now in my home ??... 
If I would receive THAT system in exchange for mine, I would sell it right away and buy mine again !!...
heck,.... I would not keep THAT one, even if they would pay me to..!!!..
I cannot stand lazy, muffled sound, that makes Led Zeppelin to appear like they are sleeping while they play..... or Pink Floyd losing all under 50Hz sounds... and everything being without life.... 
talking about a big ripoff............................
I have nothing against Vandersteen or Audio Research.. they both make great products, which I've listened before, but not together.. perhaps that would be a hint... (do not put those two together !!)
The real secret lies into the separate powered subwoofer... why... because less than $10,000 speakers cannot reach nicely, down to the 16 Hz, like the Ultra-X12 does !.. and it does it with ease and elegance... the bass is relaxed, without being lazy, but dynamic and relaxed.. and very low... as I tested with the beginning of the "Edge of Tomorrow" movie.... where some infra-sounds come out and we felt the floor moving, with a very low-extra-low frequency sound...
and why is that, in fact..?.. because the floor stands deliver good mid and high frequencies... and if left alone, the bass would be "forced" into the speaker's resonance chamber and out through the round bass-reflex ports... which deliver low frequency in an indirect way... not the real sound as it is produced by a bass guitar, a piano, or a pipe organ... 
There is no way an under $10,000 speaker to be able to naturally reproduce those under 50Hz sounds... some even under $80Hz !!!.. naturally I mean... without bass reflex ports...
How do you determine if that's the case?...  the sound from a bass reflex port has a "boom" character... not a clear, razor cut, natural, texture... that I can hear now from the subwoofer... interesting, huh?...
And this is how, anybody, with a normal budget, can get a great sound... Outlaw stereo receiver with the Ultra-X12 powered sub and a pair of Monitor Audio speakers that are efficient (90dB/1W/1m) and precise enough for the 80Hz-25kHz frequency range...

 

[CDCollector]

I've been busy so I never got around to purchasing either the Marantz or a DAC.
 
Anyone have further advice still?
 
It'd be greatly appreciated.

 

[Brubacca]

Go buy a Rega Apollo-R CD player. It's about double the price of the Marantz and well worth it.

 

[jcn3]

at this point, that cd player (the current version) is so out of date, i think its a waste of money.  there are so many options out there.
 
i'd consider something like this: https://www.oppodigital.com/sonica-dac/sonica-dac-Overview.aspx.  rip your cds to a drive and you'll be good to go.

 

[CDCollector]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I like listening to physical CDs. Collecting and listening to CDs is a more rewarding experience than immaterial files.

 

[wuwhere]

I have an Oppo BDP-95 that I use as a transport. I use its SPDIF coax out to a DAC with BNC input. I use a 75ohm BNC to RCA cable.

 

[CDCollector]

Go buy a Rega Apollo-R CD player. It's about double the price of the Marantz and well worth it.

 
Thank you for your suggestion. Tempting.
 
Would you say the Rega is better sounding than a comparably priced DAC plus a generic transport? Is it so much more detailed than the Marantz?