Yea, think we've identified the major pros and cons. I run a Meridian 508.24. It's really old. But it consistently sounds as good or better than all manner of fancy, expensive, and "new" iterations of turning bits into music. Its a damn fine CDP, will give anything a run for its money, and can be had these days for relatively cheap. Full stop. Yet, the transport on that sucker has been unavailable for almost a decade. So, when it goes -- and some day it is sure to -- it's gone. (And no digital in, so when the transport kicks it, the DAC's paper-weighted as well). So there you have it: you can get truly world-class performance from a used, last-gen CDP these days for a real bargain, but for how long can be a real crap shoot and, not unlikely, a genuine zero sum game....
Not for nothin', but this reasoning (assuming it makes sense to you, which is certainly a matter of preference rather than objective truth or anything similarly fanciful) is precisely why I opted for the stand-alone DAC + separate (computer in my case) transport route instead. Mileage guaranteed to vary.
Not for nothin', but this reasoning (assuming it makes sense to you, which is certainly a matter of preference rather than objective truth or anything similarly fanciful) is precisely why I opted for the stand-alone DAC + separate (computer in my case) transport route instead. Mileage guaranteed to vary.