[cspirou]

I am interested in getting a CD player and am wondering what would be the better buy for quality. If I have $500 would I be better off buying a $500 CD player or buying a $50 cd player with digital out and a $450 DAC?

With a $500 CD player I know that the DAC and transport can share the same clock which reduces jitter. However I feel like the dac is much more important than the transport and focusing expenses on the DAC results in something much better than splitting the difference between the two.

 

[Sko0byDoo]

Why not both in a same box?  For your price range, the Oppo could be your DAC and CD/SACD player.  I grabbed an used Oppo 105 for $800 (Oppo-95 is a few hundreds $$ cheaper) and pretty happy with CD/SACD functions.  The DAC was a tag below my dedicated PWDII DAC.  If you go a separate-DAC way, I highly recommend Shiit products; great values for the $$. 

 

[KG Jag]

The Teac CD 1000 can currently be had from Amazon and others for $499.  Bonus--it's an SACD deck.
 
A used Oppo BDP-83SE might be had at least close to your budget.  It plays almost everything, including HDCD.

 

[cspirou]

I am not asking for specific recommendations and $500 is not my budget, only a point of reference. I am basically asking if its better to pour my money into a CD player or into a DAC with a minimal CD player.

 

[billybob_jcv]

I think it's better to rip the CDs to lossless and never have to worry about the CD player again!

 

[KG Jag]

I am not asking for specific recommendations and $500 is not my budget, only a point of reference. I am basically asking if its better to pour my money into a CD player or into a DAC with a minimal CD player.

 
If you plan to use the DAC for other things, then go separately.  If it will be used all or almost all for CD's (perhaps SACD's, DVD-A, Blu-Ray, HDCD's and other disc formats--depending on the deck), then go with a single high quality integrated unit.

 

[KG Jag]

I think it's better to rip the CDs to lossless and never have to worry about the CD player again!

That works for many--especially you "youts".  However for those of us with 1,000's of CD's, hundreds of HDCD's, hundreds of SACD's DVD-A, Blu-Ray, etc. (many in 5.1), it's not the best option.
 
Then there are the 1,000's of vinyl LP's from the mid-60's on that "must" be a part of the system...

 

[PurpleAngel]

I am interested in getting a CD player and am wondering what would be the better buy for quality. If I have $500 would I be better off buying a $500 CD player or buying a $50 cd player with digital out and a $450 DAC?

With a $500 CD player I know that the DAC and transport can share the same clock which reduces jitter. However I feel like the DAC is much more important than the transport and focusing expenses on the DAC results in something much better than splitting the difference between the two.

 
Audio-CD players have been around for over 40 years and I'm assuming no one has tried to make any improvements in CD player technology for over 10 years (give or take).
A modern Blu-ray player is designed to read a disc where the disc data (Blu-ray) is over 20 times denser, then an Audio-CD.
So really can't see a good reason for buying a "modern" $500 CD player.
So I say to spend most of your cash for a DAC.

 

[KG Jag]

 

I am interested in getting a CD player and am wondering what would be the better buy for quality. If I have $500 would I be better off buying a $500 CD player or buying a $50 cd player with digital out and a $450 DAC?

With a $500 CD player I know that the DAC and transport can share the same clock which reduces jitter. However I feel like the DAC is much more important than the transport and focusing expenses on the DAC results in something much better than splitting the difference between the two.

 
Audio-CD players have been around for over 40 years and I'm assuming no one has tried to make any improvements in CD player technology for over 10 years (give or take).
A modern Blu-ray player is designed to read a disc where the disc data (Blu-ray) is over 20 times denser, then an Audio-CD.
So really can't see a good reason for buying a "modern" $500 CD player.
So I say to spend most of your cash for a DAC.

 
The Oppo and TEAC decks mentioned above come with excellent DAC's--much more than is needed to play just CD's.  Evem Marantz CD decks like the entry level CD5004 & 5005 have high quality DACs.

 

[PurpleAngel]

   
The Oppo and TEAC decks mentioned above come with excellent DAC's--much more than is needed to play just CD's.  Even Marantz CD decks like the entry level CD5004 & 5005 have high quality DACs.

 
The Newer ($399) Marantz CD5005 comes with the CS4398 DAC chip, same DAC chip found in a $75 sound card.
I'm sure the Marantz sounds great and I'm sure there is more good hardware on the insides, beside the DAC chip, but still it uses the same DAC chip as a $75 ($60 on sale) sound card.
I'm hopeful the OP just burns all his Audio CDs to FLAC.

 

[Billheiser]

One extra factor for me is that most CD players start playing music right away, while blu ray/DVD/cd combos usually take much longer to load and digest a disc. That's not a huge deal but it annoys me, and sometimes I'm in DJ mode and I don't want to go through menus to just play a cd.
It's hard to find "cheap" CD only players now, though, since DVD players are more common and cheaper now. A good deal is an Onkyo c7030, sturdy and quiet, with digital output to your DAC of choice. Around $180 street price.

 

[billybob_jcv]

That works for many--especially you "youts".  However for those of us with 1,000's of CD's, hundreds of HDCD's, hundreds of SACD's DVD-A, Blu-Ray, etc. (many in 5.1), it's not the best option.

Then there are the 1,000's of vinyl LP's from the mid-60's on that "must" be a part of the system...

Now you're just showing off...

BTW, I stopped being a "yout" back when we had a peanut farmer as President...

 

[KG Jag]

 

That works for many--especially you "youts".  However for those of us with 1,000's of CD's, hundreds of HDCD's, hundreds of SACD's DVD-A, Blu-Ray, etc. (many in 5.1), it's not the best option.

Then there are the 1,000's of vinyl LP's from the mid-60's on that "must" be a part of the system...

Now you're just showing off...

BTW, I stopped being a "yout" back when we had a peanut farmer as President...

 
Alas I'm afraid that it's only my age that is showing.
 
And yes you are a "yout" to someone who was born when Truman was the President.

 

[KG Jag]

One extra factor for me is that most CD players start playing music right away, while blu ray/DVD/cd combos usually take much longer to load and digest a disc. That's not a huge deal but it annoys me, and sometimes I'm in DJ mode and I don't want to go through menus to just play a cd.
It's hard to find "cheap" CD only players now, though, since DVD players are more common and cheaper now. A good deal is an Onkyo c7030, sturdy and quiet, with digital output to your DAC of choice. Around $180 street price.

The Oppos are quite fast--at least as fast as some good CD and SACD decks.
 
The Onkyo C-7030 is a very nice entry (audiophile or near audiophile) level CD deck and has a modest built in headphone amp.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I am not asking for specific recommendations and $500 is not my budget, only a point of reference. I am basically asking if its better to pour my money into a CD player or into a DAC with a minimal CD player.

 

The one thing you have to think about optical disk players is: can I service this transport, or is a technician who can do so easily accessible? (It's up to you to consider if shipping a heavy, high-end CDP for $70 each way to a technician, and also keeping the box in perpetuity for such a scenario, is "easily accessible") If there was anything at all that I would consider to be the bane of this hobby, it's the transports. From two Alpine receivers that kept eating discs and won't spit them out, to a NAD C520 that stopped reading discs eight months in, an Onkyo CDP that couldn't read CD-Rs, a Marantz CD60 that worked fine for over a decade then suddenly stopped reading CD-Rs and then I realized later couldn't read newer discs if they had some kind of PC content (it was on the start of the disc, and once it couldn't read it, wouldn't look beyond it), to an Sony SCD595 SACD Player that stopped reading SACDs after the damn warranty expired, plus a Pioneer DV4xx and DV667 that stopped reading altogether...all the time I've had to "upgrade" or whatever because of the freaking transport. I have not yet had a DAC fail on me, but optical disc sources give up the ghost at some point. Then dealers, like in the case of the NAD still under warranty, blame it on "pirated CDs," and considered it to be my burden to prove that I didn't use any (what daft mofos they were - NAD replaced them after bringing the hammer down on warranties, after they also admitted that Sanyo sent them a bad batch of transports). I mean, really, if you think an RMA for a HDD is frustrating, try it with an optical disc transport. At least you can go over to a store and get a new HDD for your music server while WD or Seagate gets its act together, but can you order the correct transport and install it yourself? 

 

If your answer to the last question is anything less than a confident "YES," you might want to avoid using optical disc players - or at least avoid using anything that is frustratingly expensive to replace. If your reference is around $500 though you're not far off a music server from Marantz.