Best Digital Front End Period!

if your budget is really large, check out the Boulder 2020 advance dac, which sounds its very best mated with the Boulder 2010 preamp. you'll need a transport, of course. i'd recommend the Forsell or Burmester if you want cd only; if you want sacd & cd, check out the Accuphase dp100. if you don't feel like spending >$60,000, i'd very seriously consider the 1-box Accuphase 75v @ $11k retail. for my own system, i run an Accuphase dp-90 cd transport into a dc-330 all-digital preamp ; this pre has the same dac built in as the 75v but, IMHO, sounds even better than that unit, due in large measure to the superiority of the separate transport. both the 75v and 330 are upgradeable via plugin curcuit boards to advd and sacd. tho, i've not yet had it confirmed, i've been told the Boulder dac will also be upgradeable to advd and/or sacd. BTW, once you've listened to any of the prducts recommended above, i think you'll forego the dvd route; you won't get even close to the sound quality with dvd except on the handful of advd discs available. if you want to see how dvd is matching up with sacd availability, take a look @ chad kassim's latest catalog (Acoustic Sounds-available online @www.acousticsounds.com). have fun, but watch your feet. it's a minefield out there.

the Ensemble Dac & Transport from switzerland!!

So far its a Forsell MkII going into a Wadia 9 going straight into the amps. The more work on acoutic isolation and power conditioning the better this combo sound. Despite the age of the Wadia 9 it still sounds more like the real thing than anything else I've had in my system.I have not heard the dCS or 75v so I cannot comment on them. Its difficult to audition this type of gear in your own system and thats the only way I'd spend that kind of money. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who has compared the Wadia 9 with any of these new DAC's. I would also love to hear a report on the recent Manley as well as the Sakura 47 system.

Tubegroover, I have read and enjoyed many of your posts, and also am partial to analog. However, six months ago I heard a Steve Huntley modified Wadia 860, and for the first time in my 25+ years of audio was forced to question the absolute superiority of analog to digits. I heard the 860 in Huntley's shop, driving Atmasphere monoblocks and Avalon speakers. Based on that experience, I purchased a Wadia 830 to replace my cheap and dirty JVC player, which was kept around for the rare CD worth owning for musical content alone, (ie., I couldn't find something comparable on LP.) After a month, I had Huntley mod the 830, and this effected the biggest improvement in a component in my system in recent memory (Linn LP12, ARC preamp, Luxman 3045 triode monoblocks--all highly modified, and Spendor speakers). Rather than bore you with the tired cliches, I would like to suggest that you contact Huntley via his website at www.greatnorthernsound.com, and discuss your situation directly. Steve is very knowledgable, having worked for Audio Research and Wadia, and is also a hell of a nice guy to talk to. You can get a good sense of what he's about just visiting his website. Best Wishes...

Crm-linc Thank you. I have indeed spoken with Steve at length concerning his ARC mods, a nice caring guy. I am considering upgrading my SP-8 in the near future, no reason to get rid of that pre-amp for what it would cost to replace it, but then again... who knows? I have heard of his legendary Wadia mods. I am still struggling with digital, just got a new DAC Friday a week ago. I won't mention the name but so far I am not too happy but maybe it hasn't broken in yet, the highs are bleeding my ears it is sooo metallic and forward sounding. Even with my moderate analog front end, the digital just doesn't resolve the music in the same manner. Oh what to do! Thanks for the tip I will probably give Steve a call to see what he offers if this DAC doesn’t work out. I have noticed a big improvement in my Ultralink with a friend's Assemblage Jitter bug in the circuit, it may not be the best out there but it took off most of the edge that the Ultralink alone has and certainly is smoother and listenable, I can’t listen to the new DAC for more than a few minutes at a time and it has been running continuously since I got it. I was assured by the dealer that this was to be expected. It has one more week to "break in" or back it goes. Thanks again Will