Does good DAC improve sonics of low end transport


I'm embarrased to admit that I am unable to live without the features and convenience of my Sony ES 400 megachanger. I have a Jolida 202a tube amp with level I mods and an AMC tube-driven DAC9, Aura speakers and prolfex interconnects and Clearpath cables.

My real question is whether or not a good DAC will substantially improve the sonics of my crappy transport or will I always be compromising the sound no matter what I do because my front end is so inferior to the rest of my system. Is it worth upgrading other parts of my system with the transport, namely the Sony Changer, that I have now?

I would appreciate brutal honesty and please do not hold back on your opinions. Your advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
kafka

Showing 2 responses by audioengr

The right DAC will make a world of difference, however it would be a good idea to mod the transport to make it a good one or you will not get the real performance from the DAC. Most DVD players make excellent transports, but only when they have the digital output section modded. The impedance is usually screwed-up as well as slow risetime on the S/PDIF signal for stock players. The result is high jitter.

As for DAC's, you should lite on a Perpetual Tech P-3A or a MSB gold or Platinum. Both get a LOT better with mods. Once modded these DAC's rival and actually beat most SACD players when comparing redbook to SACD.
Jazzdude - you should consider getting the jukebox transport modded. Most Sony players make excellent transports once modded.