How well does Conrad-Johnson do digital?

Stunning beauty in the midrange, natural highs and bass with texture. Not the quickest, not the most detailed, not the tightest bass, but a beautiful sound. Needs to be left plugged in - the solid state part is always on - and the tube section needs 15 minutes of warm up, perhaps a bit more. It does not have HDCD or 24 bit chip, but it makes cds sound lovely. Less expensive solid state players sound rather mechanical by comparison. A great competitor is the Sonic Frontiers SFCD (available now only used). It is a tube unit as well. In the character of SF, it has more extended highs and deeper bass and is a bit faster and more detailed than the CJ, but it is far less musical, especially in the midrange. The SFCD is an excellent player though, not mechanical sounding, just a slightly different representation of reality vs the CJ.
Art

I agree with Art's assessment. I currently use CJ DR-1/DA2b combo, which I have compared head to head with Levinson, Jadis, Goldmund, Copland, EAD, etc... For the money, the CJ system is great. It might be described as laid-back or a tad bit soft when compared with much higher-priced gear, but it has a rightness to its presentation which is very analogue-like. CJ's greatest shortcoming is the lack of the ooomphh in the bass that I have gotten from other front ends. The bass is, however, very well defined and harmonically rich. Replacing the stock 6gk5 tubes with Mullards have made subtle improvements.

Jeff

I've owe c-j DR1 transport and Premier 9 DAC for four years
now, and still intend to leave happy with them for a while.
The lack of qualities mentioned above, were absolutely
compensated by a Genesis Digital Lens ( in spite of the
1 bitstream in the c-j, they get a synergistic effect together...). I used a AR tube preamp and Brystons 7B
ST monos ( BTW, gave the Brystons an audition, instead of
lisnenig to the snobs with fat waletts )to drive a pair of Apogee Scintillas.
A gentlemen who owns Tact Audio ( amp and room correction )
and vey expensive speakers and gear overall, complemented
me on the sound. I was pleased and enjoying it anyway...
I didn't see more that two or three Premier 9s for sale
on the used market during the last few years, so I think that this is also a good sign...