I went with the 360S and I wouldnt say I regret it BUT I am contemplating selling it. I bought a Krell KPS 20i to act as a transport ... just for the hell of it I switched to the Krell DAC and ran the transport as a CDP. I'll be damned ... to my ears it sounded a tiny bit better. I have switched lengths and brands of digital cables that feed the Krell and havent noticed much difference. I now wonder if I shouldnt have gone with the 36S and put the money somewhere else or better yet just dumped 5 grand into a CD player. I'm contemplating selling it all as I write this and trying something else.
I will tell you this : it kicks serious butt either way. I would put it up against any digital source 16 or 24 bit and I bet it would hold it's own. The CD recording plays a big part of it ... the new stuff is fantastic but some of that older stuff seems even worse. You are almost there ... I cant imagine the money would be well spent but I guess it would depend a lot on the rest of the system. If that 36S is REALLY a weak point maybe, maybe, maybe ... The new DAC would have serious eye candy points.
I will tell you this : it kicks serious butt either way. I would put it up against any digital source 16 or 24 bit and I bet it would hold it's own. The CD recording plays a big part of it ... the new stuff is fantastic but some of that older stuff seems even worse. You are almost there ... I cant imagine the money would be well spent but I guess it would depend a lot on the rest of the system. If that 36S is REALLY a weak point maybe, maybe, maybe ... The new DAC would have serious eye candy points.