[wkwlb]

I am thinking of getting myself an desktop rig, possibly with balanced headphone but not speakers. It includes CDP optical/coaxial ->DAC balanced output-> Balanced AMP-> Balanced HD650. but I am quite confused about whether should I spent lots of money on the CDP as long as I only use it as a transport. Will there be a noticeable difference between 2 CDPs with similar optical pickups and all connected to an external DAC via digital output(internal DAC&AMP all skipped?)? Or maybe a DVD player will do the job? Or the PC optical drive with usb output? Quite tempted by the lavry DA10 even though i need quite a long time to raise the money. Any help is appreciated.

I did a search b4 i made this post, it did not return much of the required information though. Maybe anyone can point me a link to relevant posts

 

[Michgelsen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkwlb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Will there be a noticeable difference between 2 CDPs with similar optical pickups and all connected to an external DAC via digital output(internal DAC&AMP all skipped?)?

Not likely. If you're buying a whole new system and don't plan to connect multiple digital sources to your amp via a DAC, I'd suggest buying a one-box CDP, instead of a transport and DAC. This will probably sound better, will be less of a hassle and be cheaper.

 

[Cankin]

I'm about in the same situation, although I haven't heard it yet but I think Cambridge Audio 840c is a good candidate, it has digital input and can be used as a standalone DAC, balanced output, dual dac, upsampling to 24/384 and you don't have to worry about what toslink/coaxial cable to use to connect your DAC and transport.

Most importantly, it's about the same price as Lavry DA10(or any $1000 DAC) + Transport.

 

[selfdivider]

I have Cambridge Audio 840C and it's pretty killer, both as CDP and as DAC (I run Squeezebox 3 through it.) If you already have a good DAC, then you can get something like Oppo 980H for $160 and run it through the DAC & the results will be excellent. This way, you also get DVD-A & SACD playback. Not to mention the excelleng DVD video playback of the Oppo.

 

[wkwlb]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I am heading downtown to audition both of the 840C and Lavry DA10 Before finally making a decision. ^^