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Digital Purchase Advice . . .DAC or New Player

I'm all over the board on this one. . .

I want to upgrade my digital platform and of course, I want the best performance for my dollar. I currently have a 16 year-old Philips 5 disc carousel and a Denon DVD-3910. Obviously the Philips is sub-par as a player, but can serve as a transport for casual listening. The Denon is a decent player and can also serve as a transport for more devoted listening. It also decodes HDCD which is a must for me.

I've been looking at the Cullen level 3 PS Audio DLIII as an option, but was wondering if I'd get better results going to a new player. On that front I've been considering the stock Raysonic CD-128 or the Moon modified Original CD-2008 MK2. If I go with a new player I would use the balanced outputs to feed a Pass Labs X-1/X250 driving Thiel CS1.6s. My musical tastes are rock/jazz/classical.

Would I get better performance and musicality from the DAC or from a new player?

Any and all feedback is appreciated.
catastrofe

Showing 1 response by elevick

elevick
2,638 posts
 
You are going to have to spend a bundle to really beat the denon. If you like its multi-purpose playing, consider keeping it for dvd/a & sacd but get a nice 2 channel DAC.
Another thing you may consider is getting it modded? Partsconnexion or Underwood both can take it to many new levels. You could even get tubes put in it?
My Denon is great and actually sounds better without some external DAC's that should improve the sound. However, my modded music hall wins.
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