How to get into high end digital? (Feeding a DAC)

Pure digital is totally accurate but not everyone's cup of tea. We are influenced by our past.

If I can measure the output and compare it to the input and see that it more true than comparing that stream to the Vinyl, then I can convince myself.
I may not like it, but I am pretty much a “by the numbers fellow”.
And I would then likely try and understand why I like the worse one better.
I know that is the case comparing my VTLs to the Haus-Boss’s NAD amp. The VTLS have a huge amount of IMD. The NAD was more faithful to the input.

@henry53: parts costs to build DACs are are in the hundreds at most! Four-figure  and up DACs are high-profit items! Don't forget these companies are into it to make money!

A $500 Cambridge CXC transport + a $300 Khadas DAC is a formidable combination!

OP

You sound stressed.  Relax.  Digital is easy.  Get a decent CDP or transport, a cable that is at least one step above Radio Shack, plug into a DAC or else just use the DAC in the CDP, sit back and enjoy music.  Add a streamer later if you want, or else just use a computer for that (presumably you own one of those already).
  It would help if you told what your budget is.  You are all over the place.  I don’t want to recommend an $80K digital set up if your budget is 8 cents

I guess I should have expanded a bit on the baggage.
The Yiggy has some historical baggage as one of the worst measuring expensive DACs when it was first introduced. That no longer seems to be the case but since it is R2R that makes it somewhat like the tube equivalent of DACs since R2R is considered to color the sound instead of being transparent. That is true of all R2R DACs not just the Yiggy.

@Holmz

You could use a computer ,using a Ethernet cable 
then to isolate digital noise there are several good Ethernet hubs 
like uptone audio Ether Regen , and Ethernet cables absolutely make a difference , for I had had the latest Topping which measures great
but musically not that engaging, having very good filtering , regulation and linear power supplies , internal dac chips in the D&A  conversion  for my smaller system the Denafrips pontus-2 
was much better musically . My Bricasti M3 with Streamer board
totally isolated the complete Digital feed ,using Ethernet ,
the digital packet stream is cleaned which digital noise is present
from your modem to router carried noise from the outside , a Ether regen  ,or IS2 signal eliminates the noise before it reaches your streamer . In theBricasti case it’s design eliminates this before converting with filtering ,pre,and post regulation and electrically isolated internally .
The streamer in the same chassis with the dac on a very well designed  unit eliminates extra powercord, and cable even lower noise floor for totally isolated internally and yes I have compared to good separate servers like with Melco ,No added expenses, more and more high end companies are offering  Dacwith streamer module boards .
look at Blusound for $550  that's a great dealforamodest setup , the Bricasti is $6500 retail. But loaded with quality throughout and is modular for future upgrades ,their top model is $16k. My point is quality build , and  design count in musicality. As technology evolves the prices reflect this and are coming down.

I guess I should have expanded a bit on the baggage.
The Yiggy has some historical baggage as one of the worst measuring expensive DACs when it was first introduced. That no longer seems to be the case but since it is R2R that makes it somewhat like the tube equivalent of DACs since R2R is considered to color the sound instead of being transparent. That is true of all R2R DACs not just the Yiggy.

Thanks @trevalinjack

Probably liking Neil Gaimon has coloured the Yggdrasil to be worth a left n_t or at least a left eye… which are somewhat similar to an extent.

OP

You sound stressed.  Relax.  Digital is easy. 

I am less stressed than usual…
(but it does seems < easy) ;)

I would start with one switch. See what happens.  Top end switches start at circa 700/- so its not as if it would break the bank.  Check out reviews.  See what other people say about that item.   Not to be disloyal, but I find whatsbest and audiophilestyle are easily the most informative forums for things audio. 

Why does good support improve sound?   That's easy.  There are a few thousand itty bitty pieces of stuff in an amp (or any electrical unit) - things like capacitors, rectifiers, resistances etc.  Each of them vibrates a tiny bit at their own resonant frequency in response to the vibration from the music and transformers, etc.  This generates their own tiny signal in the overall electrical field of the amp.  Thousands of these conflicting signals are feeding into the main signal.  That's emi inside the unit = hash.  There are various ways of dealing with the vibration....you can use mass for damping, special materials to line the walls of the unit, springs to try to make the  whole unit move as one in response to outside vibration, cones (they are like mechanical valves) to block outside vibrations.  On top of the vibration from speakers, a fun fact to keep in mind is that Earth is constantly at Richter 1-2. 

In my opinion, the best are those devices that drain entropy, preventing transfer of vibration into the component and at the same time cancelling internal vibration.  They also work for speakers by decoupling them from room effects.  In fact, it is with footers for speakers where I found the most significant improvements.  Relatively expensive, but worth every cent.  

I've elaborated a bit here because, in my opinion, these particular sub species of footers along with audiophile switches are both the best bang for the buck in audio at its current state of development.  They are SOUND QUALITY amplifiers, even for relatively cheap equipment.  Much smarter upgrade path than buying more expensive equipment.

Not sure what magnetic platters do....I have never used one.

Good power cords block emi and clean up the signals and improve SQ in ways that I don't really understand, but have empirical experience of.  Its easy to test this.  Just try to compare a couple of ac cables, give them ten minutes of play time before judging.  You should get a taste of what you will finally get after 5-600 hundred hours of usage (this is a dead crazy hobby we have got ourselves into).  Again, there are great ac cables starting at circa 200/-.

Hope this is helpful and not too long winded.

Best wishes

I'll jump in, with no answers but some suggestions.  In fact, i'll suggest that you ignore all specific answers nad spend some time learning.  "product X" is almost never the answer.

There have been a ton of excellent threads that several folks, me included have contributed to.  The bottom line is that you need to learn about digital interfaces at some level ( i realize not all are engineers), their issues, and basic approaches to fixing the issues.

A few resources are helpful.  he best, IMO is Hans Beekhuysen:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR4tuhqPppVp-PD0q17sPEA
he's become the digital audio guy. he has an e-book out, and several (free) Youtube sessions on various topics. I assure you he knows his stuff.

John Darko has much simpler, though less meaty stuff, as is his niche.

You can also find and read the way-behind-schedule but meaty blogs at Sonogy Research. One is on why the digital interface is not in fact purely digital.  Warning: you must go back to your high school math which many of the youtube "bits is bits" pundits apparently forgot.

In the end, for both practical and sonic reasons i targe some variant of ethernet to USB, and to clean up that USB.  Much of this as to do with clean grounds/power, and ensuring low jitter.  The rest is mumbo jumbo.

In general I'd put SPDIF from a CD player dead last almost regardless of who's magic box it is.  And transport is just a CDP with the DAC bypassed and the solid i2S internal interface replaced with the timing-challenged SPDIF (no timing lead).

Enjoy the journey.
G

@holmz I advise finding a dealer that suits your needs, style and preference from anywhere in the country. There are many who are terrific in supporting their clients, irrespective of location. Some are especially strong in modern (current) digital system building.

A resource to start with are the threads in this forum that list recommended dealers. You can also evaluate some of those dealers based on their posts in the digital related and focused threads.

I suggest speaking with at least three and going with the one you have the best gut feel for.

Given your lack of exposure and experience with digital, a guiding hand will likely prove invaluable. It’s also the best way to demo the units within your own system, once you establish a relationship.

BTW, a good friend has the Merging stack and is extremely impressed. It’s outside of your budget but performs at a level significantly above the two DAC models you have been focused on.

I encourage you to think beyond a single component...the DAC in your case. It’s critical to have a comprehensive consideration / approach for everything from the incoming ISP signal through to the DAC.

All the best and good luck.

Find a local audiophile or dealer who has achieved "something" with digital and learn from them.

Good one…

• There are no dealers near by.
  
• The one that I am most familiar with (In SoCal) has the Merging+.

I think Hans provides a ton of good, basic, information in a user-friendly format (unlike here).  I'm also not terribly interested in his specific product suggestions.  The goal is for the OP to triage and make his own (her own? who knows).


I cannot, of course, comment on objections that you don’t specify, but if some audiophiles get unhappy with someone it typically says to me "he must be on to something"


And as one who has worked in various aspects of digital sound, video and synchronization, on and off, directly and indirectly for 35 years, i feel comfortable with my opinion. This extends from high end product and contract design to my real work at places like leading research labs, plus SMPTE, MPEG, and others.  I mean, we're just looking to demystify the basics.

Moreover, I’ve spent enough time to tune in my own system, using modestly price stuff and get impressive results against stuff costing 5-10X. Bear in mind my goal is not just the sound, its to learn where and how i might be able to make a jump in price/performance and/or simplify this admittedly befuddling topic.

So i will double don on him giving a great overview to new players in digital about what is what, what terms of art mean, how they go together, and what he feels makes a difference.


I cant speak for the areas you think he has been in error, but i know I’ve made mistakes. I presume you have too. As Charlie Brown quipped when Lucy Van Pelt noted that we learn from our mistakes: "that must make me the smartest person in the whole world"

I really don't like having to deal with overly strong, even if they have merit, comments that are not backed up by enough facts to know the difference. Let's be measured and cite our sources.


G

It looks like most of the sane people are here in digital:-) Keep it up jasonbourne and sensesundertime. It is nice to hear the voice of sanity.

The nice thing about digital information is that it is very hard to corrupt. Just look at the difference between analog and digital cell phones. It is either a zero or a one. Computers are blind to everything else. You can corrupt digital information on purpose with compression or a reduction in sampling rates. The only thing a cable can do is limit bandwidth but it is so easy to make a cable with acceptable bandwidth it is hard to imagine that any cable sold for digital use would do that to the extent it would corrupt a 24/192 signal. 

Our ears are very sensitive but they are terrible measuring devices. There is no way they can be calibrated. The other interesting characteristic of our hearing physiology is you can easily remember what you heard but you can remember how it sounded. You can intentionally characterize what you heard such as noting that the bass sounded great. In real time you can relate the sound to previous exposures. The bass sounds better today than the last concert I went too. Try to recall how something sounded without thinking in words. You can't. Thinking you can is like telling us you can fly, without a flying device. Measurements do not cover every eventuality but it is the best we have for quantifying the performance of an audio system. Relying on what any human thinks something sounded like is a very big mistake as you can witness when listening to the tweak gang ramble on. I am not saying that you can not improve the performance of your audio system by listening to it. You most certainly can. In real time you can easily identify weakness and with the appropriate measures most weakness can be overcome. You can remember what you heard but you can't remember what t sounded like.

Getting back to the OP, Get yourself a used Oppo or a new Reavon. Either unit will do everything you want. No need to take up more space than you have to. You are not going to get better DACs as stand alone units without spending more than you want. It does not sound like you want to get into computer audio but the Oppo has a USB input anyway.

"which cheap ones sound expensive?”
I wouldn’t call any of Gustard line I looked at => X26PRO/A22/older-A20H "cheap DAC", because all of them are built to very high standards, and use first league expensive components, very nice printed circuit boards, clean layout, CNC machined enclosure, excellent analog power blocks etc. Sound of X26PRO & A22 is 10/10, A20H 9/10

@itsjustme  +1  regarding Hans Beekhuyzen

@dabel Making progress, albeit slowly. Even the internet service is back without disruption since Saturday. My local pharmacy is finally back up and stocked (for now). Grocery stocks and resupply are still variable. Deliveries are sporadic.

We are in Metairie. Things, of course, are much worse further south and west of us. Went for my first bike ride (since Ida) along the south shore levy and it’s nearly cleaned up. Stinks, though. : )

The eight foot gator along the path was enjoying sunbathing.

Thanks for checking in.

"I am already running a NUC for the NetFlix streamer, and another for Linux so I am familiar with them. (& thanks for the links - I’ll give them a whirl) I guess I come out of the NUC on one of the HMDI ports? And into the HT-AVR/Pre?"

Cool. John Darko has a good video about setting up a NUC as Roon Core.  
No, you don't connect it to the Pre, just leave it near your router and add it via ethernet to a switch or the router itself. Your Roon Ready pre will be set up as the "Roon Endpoint", pulling the play queue from the NUC. You control it all via phone, tablet and perhaps from your HT pre depending on its features. Cheers,
Spencer

And yes, NUCs (running good streaming software ike Roon or ???) and Raspberry Pis are really strong contenders. That said they both demand attention to clean power, or better yet, segmented power with clean and dirty functions handled independently. You might be surprised how many commercial product embed a RPi or similar. Hey, i might. Nothing wrong with a solid, mass produced platform that on fixes the weaknesses of.
Oh, and to a couple who posted, my comment about "the answer being component X" was aimed at no one in particular - just more a process comment that understanding comes before selection IMO.

OK - I think maybe the best near term plan is to await the AVR arrival and just try Roon on it… Then I’ll see if the 2 channel if good enough with it.

I have the Topping D90.  It has very nice parts in it.  I would say very neutral and transparent.  I can only comment on the comparison to the Bluesound Node 2i DAC.  The Denafrips Pontus gets very good reviews and is R2R.  $1694

your 2 channel will be fine.  Can it be better?  Of course it can.  It can always be better, but at what cost?  That's when you figure out what to do with 2 channel.  Try it the way you are doing and then we can talk, lol.  :). 

@holmz
It’s difficult to understand what you are targeting when your OP says “high end digital” (what does this mean to you?) and it appears you have not stated a budget.  
Generally speaking, digital audio playback requires a server(where music files stored)> streamer(transportation/delivery of music files) > DAC (translates files to an audio signal).  If you want to spin SACD/CDs, you’ll also need a transport.

A CD player has both a transport and DAC built in.  In high-end audio, for best performance it is generally better to separate the functions to better isolate components from vibrations and electrical noise but costs more in casework and additional cables.  Also, usually a DAC+transport is significantly sonically better than a CD player unless you spend considerable $ for a higher quality player.  For greater flexibility (upgrades), better performance, and lower cost, most high-end digital systems have a stand alone DAC vs a CD player.

@holmz
It’s difficult to understand what you are targeting when your OP says “high end digital” (what does this mean to you?) and it appears you have not stated a budget.  
Generally speaking, digital audio playback requires a server(where music files stored)> streamer(transportation/delivery of music files) > DAC (translates files to an audio signal).  If you want to spin SACD/CDs, you’ll also need a transport.
…

Well I was not thinking much of budget, but less than 10k.


But high-end to me would be something that sounds good and does not sound like it is obviously coming from a CD player.

A CD player has both a transport and DAC built in.  In high-end audio, for best performance it is generally better to separate the functions to better isolate components from vibrations and electrical noise but costs more in casework and additional cables.  Also, usually a DAC+transport is significantly sonically better than a CD player unless you spend considerable $ for a higher quality player.  For greater flexibility (upgrades), better performance, and lower cost, most high-end digital systems have a stand alone DAC vs a CD player.

Since the AVR has the Roon End-Point and DAC built in, I will try that first. Plus it has some built in room correction, so maybe that will help sound in terms of bass and EQ, without destroying imaging?
I’ll see I guess.

@audiotroy There is a lot of misinformation here the quality of the data stream really matters and can totally affect the sound quality of the dac all dacs are sensitive to jitter recllocking can help but digital noise can not be reclocked out.

This is one of the reasons pcs make poor tramsports

Listen to a dedicated server from auralac,aurrender innous or 432evo and you will hear a dramatic improvement in your digital playback.

Hi Dave, I have a T+A SD3100HV connected to a SOtM network switch with a MacBook Pro i7 core and SOtM cat 7 ethernet cables. Do I need a dedicated server to better the sound quality if so which server would you recommend. Thanks

OP you are getting advice from jasonbourne and his ilk which I suggest you completely disregard if you are after 'high end digital' That poor horse has been beaten to death.


You also mentioned something about measurements. If you are not familiar with digital then ignore the technical side and use your ears. Somebody gave the impression that R2R is baggage which is not true. Don't worry about the architecture just how it sounds. I have an ancient baggage machine, a Wadia 15 that is so full of baggage that it can only play redbook, but outplays my Bryston DAC even when the latter is playing hi-res. True story. The measurementalists frown when I explain that I prefer listening to ... music,  not so much interested in how sine waves measure or sound.


Whether it's analogue or digital the source matters a lot and it's importance should not be underestimated. The recommendation to visit a few dealers is solid advice and is worth heeding. Even if it takes time and effort you hadn't allowed for it will pay off by providing you with a target performance you are comfortable with. Forget those that say "just connect your computer to a cheap $300 DAC using the cheapest cable cos' they all sound the same" 


Also consider buying used which is what I am doing. I need to downsize and once my used Mojo Mystique V3 DAC arrives I will sell the ones I mentioned. He sells V3 units that he takes in trade for $3500 but they are scarce, and I will when funds allow probably get one of his servers at about the same price. Or contact me if you may be interested in the Wadia

@audiotroy There is a lot of misinformation here the quality of the data stream really matters and can totally affect the sound quality of the dac all dacs are sensitive to jitter recllocking can help but digital noise can not be reclocked out.

What exactly is digital noise?

I see this: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/dac-vs-cd-player-shootout-measurements.10...
which seemed to above 20kHz, but it would not help anything.

OP you are getting advice from jasonbourne and his ilk which I suggest you completely disregard if you are after 'high end digital' That poor horse has been beaten to death.

I try to appreciate all perspectives. And appreciate them more with soom back up evidence. And I would still like to know how and what people that design cable get good, or bad, cables from a scientific perspective. Not everyone is J.C Maxwell, or others, but the physics is not different for different people… It is universal.

You also mentioned something about measurements. If you are not familiar with digital then ignore the technical side and use your ears. Somebody gave the impression that R2R is baggage which is not true. Don't worry about the architecture just how it sounds. I have an ancient baggage machine, a Wadia 15 that is so full of baggage that it can only play redbook, but outplays my Bryston DAC even when the latter is playing hi-res. True story. The measurementalists frown when I explain that I prefer listening to ... music, not so much interested in how sine waves measure or sound.

I basically do not want an embarrassing CD play and disappointing experience. Currently I was not sure whether the old CD player or the RCAs had the blown channel… but I put the AQ Emerald interconnects on and it sounded OK with “The Violent Femmes” (Which are often recroded poorly), and “Social Diostortion” wasn’t bad.(So in my case the 1M AQ interconnects were better than the 5M store bought ones, which are obviously $hit-Haus.)

Then I put on some Vivaldi, and it is front to back and side to side… everything laid out.Then the Doug McLeod LIve the Europe…Both sounded pretty awesome.

But I am also trained and educated in science, so I have a hard time believing in the pure magic. When the McLeod song comes on, I do not want to think about measurements… and it again brought a tear to my eye. (Which is a better tear than those form looking at the empty wallet)

If the two sources sound different , then they must also be producing different signals versus time. This is what graphs, measurements, and solid engineering is for.

Whether it's analogue or digital the source matters a lot and it's importance should not be underestimated.

I hear you. I think that the speakers matter more, and I put the source at #2… but I agree.

The recommendation to visit a few dealers is solid advice and is worth heeding. 

I used to live close to many good shops, or close enough to get there in an hour or three.

Now I am literally more than a day’s drive away, assuming that people drive 1000 mi in a day… Hence I try to prefilter ideas and opinions into some plan.

It is probably similar to Covid shopping for many others in area which are less fortunate (i.e. more sparsely populated)


Anyhow I played a bit of “Immortal Technique” (Mistakes), and the “Eurasure” CD, and it all seems pretty good.
Maybe the rest of the chain of gear is not up to scratch.

But I will spend some time in (what I believe) is a decent shop in Perth… where I am flying to in 3–4 weeks.

i dunno…

I must beg to disagree with any reclocking naysayers. thought I had a decent sound until I tried a USB reclocker. Specifically, the Innuos Phoenix. Didn’t want to lay out over 3 grand wo trying first. So, I borrowed one and what a difference it made! Better vocals and sound stage. It took the edge off the highs for a smoother sound. They say that each upgrade is a small step towards better sound. Well, the Phoenix is a broad jump in my digital system. Go listen to one for yourself.

Fiber optic provides complete isolation from the noise in the power supply of the sending unit.  Coax does not.  Galvanic and isolation transformers still pass noise through the ground.  Wireworld makes nice fiber optic cables made from glass.  Although I also have others from Amazon.  
For a transport I have a Rega, Woo Audio, and Marantz.  The Rega sounds a bit thin compared to the other 2.

For streaming I use Qobuz for my IPad into an Upsampling DAC.

I’m a tried a d true AQ guy. I do use two top end Wireworld for Ethernet though. 

Forget all that stuff.  Pitch it all out and get a set of the Dutch & Dutch 8c.    Not only are these loudspeakers amplified, they have built-in DAC and DSP EQ.  All you need are them and a digital source like a laptop, an iPad or even just your cell phone with Roon.

When you set them up, you tune them for your room and you're done.   They have some of the best imaging I've ever heard, at any price.  Truly uncanny.

Now there's no screwing around with matching components, cables (you get to eliminate speaker cables!), changing out tubes...    One stop shopping for the very, VERY best audio you'll ever hear.

Back in the day, is when I bought my Ayre QB9 and the emphasis was in how to make digital sound analogue. The technology has changed significantly since then. I was lucky in that Ayre has updated that DAC to the present. Maybe close to eight years ago I bought the Uptone Audio ISO Regen with linear power supply and found that it made a very noticeable difference. Today on my Ayre QB9 Twenty, the difference is minimal by comparison.

The criteria for choosing a DAC today is so much more complex, i.e. detail, soundstage, noise floor, jitter, etc… This in part is due to the DAC chip but more so, how it’s implemented. And because of this, I’d still recommend trying to visit brick and mortar stores to hear as many DAC’s and transports as possible.

I just set up my Brinkmann Nyquist mk 2.  I realize that I now need to get a preamp. I was under the impression I could use the internal volume control, but it guess that's not what it's designed for.  I'm waiting on a new one from a specific manufacturer, so I'll get a used balanced with zero feedback one until the one I want is ready.  Darn me!!!  That's the MS.  I can't always think straight and don't always understand what I read.  I could have sworn a reviewer used them directly to the amps. Oh well... Next piece of gear...:) 

JasonBourne says..‘The same thing applies to cables. Cheap here works just as well as expensive. A $10 Monoprice digital cable is indistinguishable from a three or four figure cable - regardless of what the "golden ears" crowd claims.’

LoL! Way to go to get things off to a contentious start! By the way I enjoy your posts and respect your opinion greatly.  On these two areas I would have to offer an alternative opinion though.

A) Digital Transport (for CD) - the Oppo UDP-205, Pioneer BDP-09fd, and Parasound Halo D3 all sound different. Even if the DAC is supposedly indifferent being asynchronous, As far as signal from CD transport, it is not all the same sound. 
B) Digital cables sound very different. The Black Cat SilverStar MkII I received from CFarrow is ultra high res. And provides a super-clear window on the music. The Black Cat Veloce is very good, but not as good as the SilverStar. Less resolving. The Canare is well behind both.

Cheers!

Digital is a very deep and winding rabbit hole but a potentially fun journey.  Long and short of it everything matters which means there's lots of avenues for improvement after you start.

First buy used for best value and return when upgrading.  Get a good DAC, add a reclocker like an IsoRegen, some decent USB cables like Curious, some decent digital power cords like Wywire, some powerline noise reducer like PS Noise Harvesters, then a real music server- start simple line Bluenode and upgrade later and enjoy.

I much preferred my Wyred4Sound DAC over my Yggy,
see: https://wyred4sound.com/products/clearance/dac-2v2se-trade-units
it includes a good volume control.  A lot is made about R2R but the W4S was just better sounding all around.  I traded up to a Denafrips Terminator then TP.  I would recommend anything Denafrips but the used market is small.

Check out US Audiomart and https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/forum/18-buy-sell-audio-and-computer-components/ for used digital gear.

Forget all that stuff. Pitch it all out and get a set of the Dutch & Dutch 8c.   Not only are these loudspeakers amplified, they have built-in DAC and DSP EQ. All you need are them and a digital source like a laptop, an iPad or even just your cell phone with Roon.

This sounds like the question I either asked, or was thinking… which was, “What about a Lyngdorf TDAI 1120 ?”.

The Dutch-n-Dutch sounds even easier.

I suppose it would be appreopriateto ask if we should go halves?  ;)

Wireworld makes nice fiber optic cables made from glass. 

Well We’ve been to the Corning museum in 2018. Whether is It glass or plastic, the physics is the same over the short haul. I am skeptical that one can “hear” glass as being more transparent.

JasonBourne says..‘The same thing applies to cables. Cheap here works just as well as expensive. A $10 Monoprice digital cable is indistinguishable from a three or four figure <digit (sic)> cable - regardless of what the "golden ears" crowd claims.’

Well 3 or 4 digits is most of the way to a fist, which seemed like it was his point.

And I doubt that the manufactures are not using 2000 $/foot cables inside of their gear.

Fiber optic provides complete isolation from the noise in the power supply of the sending unit.  Coax does not.  Galvanic and isolation transformers still pass noise through the ground. 

Ok so we are not talking about digit noise as in the bits are getting bit error rates > 0, but traditional analogue circuit noise being passed left to right through the signal chain?
(If so, I think I get it now… thanks!)

I must beg to disagree with any reclocking naysayers.

When there is a measurable difference in dither, then I would have to agree with you. If the particular device has a clock that is as stabile or more stabile than the reclocker, then that make the reclocking appear to not work… or not be needed. So asynchronous (file based), with a buffers, would seem to remove a lot of that need?

Go for Roon.  Use one of Sonore Optical solutions and all your noise worries are gone. Get a USB capable DAC. Most are now. Feed that from just about any digital library. No discs needed. Rip them all to even just a usb hard frisbee attached to the Roon server. This solution can run from 6500 for Nucleus + Signature SE down to 2000 or so for Sonore cheapest solution with had built server.  You will not be disappointed. 
I have had a few DACs and moved up to the signature se and ps audio Directstream.   Wow. Enjoying some Ken Mo right now. It’s so clean 

A set up like the one outlined below in the second bottom paragraph should fit in correctly with the Title of the Thread and the OP's inquiry.

From descriptions offered to myself following inquiries, it is certainly  going to be a very different experience and will fit in the OP's requirement,
 "But high-end to me would be something that sounds good and does not sound like it is obviously coming from a CD player."    

"Well I was not thinking much of budget, but less than 10k."
I think a prudent approach can get you to this level of set up with quite a few $$$$'s left in the coffers, leaving enough for a HQ Player Subscription for many years if this method of replay is investigated and becomes a High Up the List choice.
 
I have followed various user experiences around this method of replay during the Lockdown of 2020 and after a long hankering to experience the set up, it is looking most likely I will be able to have a demonstration of the set up later in 2021. 
I am taking a friend along who is a very adept EE and Digital Enthusiast to the demonstration, I am hoping the EE develops a curiosity for this method and carries out a build, this will make it much more accessible for myself to experience, as at present the Trip will be between 300 - 500 Miles round Trip depending on the venue.

A DSD decoder set-up as a source with a 'Valve DAC'. used 
with HQ Player upsampling to DSD from PCM FLAC files and DSD256 Tracks.

A Thread covers this arrangement and other very similar set ups on the DIY Audio Forum