[hew]

MHDT Labs Paradisea+ (tube output) or Constantine. They come with lots of different inputs. They are non-oversampling dacs so they are more analogue-like while still detailed. They have a website and there are threads dedicated to them on head-fi as well as reviews online. Do a google search.

BTW, in terms of aesthetics the see-through acrylic case MHDT uses is pretty nice.

 

[jsplice]

I also recommend the DacMagic. I bought one a week ago and have been extremely pleased with it. My dad and I compared it against his Marantz SA11S1, and it was astonishingly close (the SA11S1 retailed for about $3200 when it came out around 4-5 years ago). I'm not sure why some people say that it is "tonally dry". I have not found that to be the case, and I'm even a fan of vinyl (which is known for having better tonality than redbook).

 

[Dominat0r]

depending on the range of CDP, your CDP might have a better DAC then most cheap DACs on the market.

I was using a Zhaolu DAC for a while, with a CE595 CDP. However..after hearing my Eastsound E5 Signature (Zapfiltered) it sounded much better then my stand alone DAC. I even had a Lavry DAC as a tester for a few weeks. I still enjoyed the E5 over the lavry and the zhaolu....not saying that either DAC is bad, its just the E5s just sounds a bit better. Much more refined, less bass, but its tighter and more accurate.

SO most of the time i would say a DAC would be a good choice....however when it comes to really well made CDP, you might be surprised on how well they can sound.

 

[Shark_Jump]

Thanks Highlife, I guess I was talking more about low/mid end hifi.

This is what I can summarise from what I have received on this thread so far:

If you are considering buying a CDP on a budget of less than $1k, the cost of the internal mechanism, drive, laser etc relative to the DAC is going to be quite a high proportion of the cost.

You are better off buying a stand alone DAC and using the PCM signal out of any existing player lying around the house (CD,DVD, Blu Ray - it doesn't matter). This way you are spending the maximum amount of money on improving your audio and not wasting it duplicating stuff you already have lying around.

In practise this complicated by the lack of mainstream info and availability of standalone DAC's compared to CDPs. (Although I have no understanding of why this should be so).

 

[TreAdidas]

DACs make the most sense to me.

Personally telling apart transports is difficult to these ears. I think the difference between a transport on a $200 player and a $2000 player both feeding the same DAC make a negligible difference. You'll find folks who vehemently disagree here but that's been my experience.

Another point is that the convenience factor is huge with outboard DACs. Even if and when you decide to move on in source components you can always use that good ol' DAC. If I were to retire my CD Player from my main rig, I don't see myself getting any regular use out of it on a secondary system. With a DAC, I would totally use it elsewhere... computer, office, loaning it to friends and introducing them to better sound, etc.

 

[Shark_Jump]

Has anyone compared the PCM output signal from a $100 DVD player and a $2000 CD player? Unless there was something wrong with the DVD player that created noise in the PCM signal I would have thought there would be no difference.

 

[katzer1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shark_Jump /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone compared the PCM output signal from a $100 DVD player and a $2000 CD player? Unless there was something wrong with the DVD player that created noise in the PCM signal I would have thought there would be no difference.

I am quite happy about this particular wording of the question as it reminded me that I asked a similar question on another high end forum 2 years ago and the answer I got was that "pcm is pcm" no matter where it came from

Edit: I do recall comparing 2 $100 Dvd players, a sony and a samsung 850 (i think) a few years ago, and even on optical out there was a slight difference. I might have had some settings issue, but I thought I might as well mention it.