I have two cd players - one the Oppo that sounds pretty bad in my system on its own (its my dvd player for movies) unless played through the Audio Note Dac and one the Modwright Sony which is a quality stand alone player (tube rectified and seperate box tube power supply) unfortunately due to the mods I can't use it as a source for my dac and is getting its butt kicked by the oppo / dac combo. As for cables I am pretty good there too with audio note interconnects and a well regarded Atlas digital cable. Two things actually surprise me - how much better the oppo combo is than the Modwright Sony and how much better it is again than the computer / squeezebox / dac setup. Need to get my hands on a decent transport.
Does the Transport make a significant difference?
Had been running a squeezebox with my Audio Note 2.1 Dac. Tried my basic Oppo dvd player as a transport and yikes what an improvement - even over my $3,000 invested Modwright Sony player (a little rough round the edges but dynamic and live-ly sounding). So wondering if the mantra of having a great source is the best place to start ... ie matching the Dac to a quality transport say CEC TL 51 or open the vaults and spring for a quality Audio Note, Esoteric, or even dcs transport will be worth the investment. How does this compare with say upgrading your amp or speakers or even cables? I know I should listen for myself but any good experience out there to draw on before I start getting crazy about checking out the used adverts?