Budget DAC vs Budget CD Player?

It is a good idea to have a spinner as a backup in case your computer based system goes belly up, you don't have to be totally without music on those occasions when you're really on the mood to hear something. I have a Denon changer, and it cannot touch the quality of my PC based front end, but I use it from time to time when I don't have the laptop totally set up, or if I don't have that new CD ripped just yet.

The DAC route also allows an upgrade path via USB converter, a la Musical Fidelity Vlink 192, JKSPDIF MK3, Audiophilleo, Anedio, Empirical Audio, many others. Using a USB converter to re-clock the signal offers significant upgrades in sound vs. the USB inputs in the vast majority of DACs.

Just because a DAC has asynchronous USB, does not mean the USB interface is well designed. The best DAC designer is not necessarily a great USB engineer, these are different skill sets. Smilar to a DAC, There are also many different levels of quality in the components inside a USB converter, like the input/output stages, the quality and separation of the power supply, the quality of the crystal oscillators that re-clock the signal, etc.
one DAC that I really want to hear is the schitt bifrost, I have heard/read that the USB interface is good, but I have also read that it sounds a bit thin, not detailed enough in the low end. The Usb board is interchangeable in this unit.
The USB converter that I feel is the best quality vs cost is the JKSPDIF mk3, for various reasons. Have not yet sprang for this one. I still use the Vlink 192, which meets all of my criteria except one, it is still powered off of the USB cable, which is a no no in a truly high end system.