DAC for Krell KPS 20i

That would be a good choice. It sounds like you are looking to add some warmth (which to me increases emotion to some extent), but at the same time you indicate that the 777 also displayed greater detail than the 20i. Of course, these were in different systems.

I have never owned the Vahalla cables, but have listened to them in a friends system when he was trying them out. Our feelings were that they were a clean cable, but possibly too bright for his system. In the end he went a different direction, one that he felt conveyed a greater sense of musical emotion. Personally, I am hard pressed to say that cables normally make that large of a difference (noticeable yes, but majorly changing sound - not usually, but occassionally at best).

Before I would jump at a DAC, especially if you are looking at a fair amount of money, I would see how much your system changes if you try another CDP (perhaps you are in an area where this would not be impossible).

If you really feel a need to buy a DAC, I would consider (outside of the Reimyo which is excellent) a Trivista Dac with its tubes may be to your liking and is quite reasonable used. For a fair amount less, but also both being tubes are DACs that I have owned and really liked: CAL Alpha (either standard or already upgraded to 24/96) for about $500 or a Kora Hermes for about $750-850. I have not listened to any of the Benchmark DACs closely enough to comment on them, but it seems that many people seem to like them.

I would be careful as you are trying to duplicate a sound from another system into your system, with many things being different - not just the CDP.

Try a Shunyata King Cobra power cord and Cardas Golden Cross interconnects
and you won't need to add a DAC. This will add warmth, body and musicality
with bottom end slam and emotion.

Ckoffend: thank you for all the dac suggestions. i will be on the look out for either a tube or reimyo dac. i know it is hard to compare the sound from two different systems but in this hobby you are always looking for your weakest link to improve and since kps 20i has been around for a while and digital playback is like computer that keeps on changing i suspect it can be improved on.

Lula: good guess!!! i have shunyata king cobra for my kps20i. so you think cadas golden cross will do the trick. are the golden cross warmer than the golden reference? thanks

Yolly, I have a 1/2 meter Cardas Gold Cross (balanced) that I purchased with my CD players (Opus 21 with GNSC) thinking that I may want to warm things up a bit (I run a Krell amp - I do like Krell). I installed the Golden Cross and found that if definately warmed things up. In fact, this cable was one of the most sound changing/tweaking cables I have ever tried. In the end, I pulled it out of my system as I felt resolution and detail suffered noticeably, as did bass definition and a sense of speed. There are many, many people who like this cable and I think it is a good cable at delivering added warmth, but too much at the expense of other items that are important to ME. I would suggest trying it though and if you don't need more than a half a meter, you can buy mine or we may be able to work something out where you borrow it (where do you live city/state is fine).

Ckoffend:

thank you for the offer but my ARC sp11 only has rca input unless i can find a pair of adaptor. i will let you know. i live near Los Angeles area. sorry for the late reply. went camping with the kids. best regards Howard