2. digital
  3. 1044634298

Connect dac to Music Hall CD-25 or upgrade?

Current system:
CD Player: Music Hall CD-25
Integrated Amplifier: Musical Fidelity A300 Integrated
Speakers: Joseph Audio RM25si Mk II's
Speaker Cable: Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker cable
Interconnect: Alpha Core Micro Purl I/C
Still using stock power cords

Here's the question:
I want to upgrade the Music Hall. I have about $1500 to spend. Am I better off using the Music Hall as a transport and spending all the $ on a DAC or should I sell the Music Hall and buy a whole new CD player? I listen to a lot of small jazz combos, female vocalists, some chamber music, and, lastly, some good old Grateful Dead.

Thanks for the help.
bnrlaw

Showing 1 response by loose

loose
239 posts
 
I disagree with the statement that an external dac won't do much to improve upon the sound of a lesser cd player. I have a Rotel RCD 971 and was auditioning integrated amps with it as a source. For fun the dealer connected it to an MSB Nelson dac III. Let me tell you , the difference was night and day. I also tried a Rega pLanet 2000 without a dac (which is supposedly quite a good player), but there was simply no comparison. The dealer also had a cheap universal player from Pioneer which was connected to the nelson dac... this setup also blew away the Planet 2000 in every way...depth, dynamics, soundstaging, blackness, detail retreival...

I took the Nelson home. Simple as that.
More to discover