Thanks for the responses guys, this has been a very interesting discussion to read through. There's a bunch of terminology that I am completely ignorant of that I have to investigate. But I think I may have answered my own question. I made a subtle upgrade to the transport and the connection and I am hearing a world of difference! I replaced the $60 dvd/cd player with a Playstation 2. I know this is splitting hairs, but I'm hoping theres a build quality difference considering theirs a several hundred dollar price difference. Also, I switched from using a coax cable with the cheapo dvd/cd player to a toslink cable with the PS2. This is my first time using toslink with my r-DAC. I think the overall presentation is softer and less ear-fatiguing. Very pleased with the outcome. Next up just gotta upgrade this vintage Pioneer SX-750....Cue the audiophile eye rolling!
-Scott
-Scott