Is a dac better than an new cd palyer?

Dekay- I've gone thru a major upgrade over the last month or so, so its hard to isolate specifics. The DAC came first, then new speakers AND cables, then a step up in power to drive the new speakers. But I did really like the sound when just the DAC was added. Of course, its not an inexpensive dac, but this way I can keep the changer that my wife likes AND improve my source. I don't believe that there is a better changer than the CL-10, so that was my only option. I'm running the DAC balanced into my pre also, with better cables, so I'm sure these are all adding a piece to the puzzle. Luckily, these selections have all worked out for me, and with business being good, I was able to stretch my budget a little (OK, a lot).

If you can find a good DAC used I think it would be the way to go. I got a Pass D1 and with any CD as a transport (even my old Sony ES) it sounds better than any of the new CD players I auditioned.

Swampwalker: Never tried the Classe, but did end up with the Bel Canto 1.0 (and later the 1.1) DAC for over a year, which I enjoyed. I just found some of the popular DAC's to be too bright, thus not better, IMO.

I went to a used Muse 296 with my Arcam CD player. It made a huge difference and I love it.

Unlike Dekay, I am very happy with the Classe' dac I used to upgrade my CAL CL-10 changer. So far, I believe that it gave me a major upgrade in sound while preserving the party friendly changer.

SACD players can accept an external DAC for standard CD playback (all that I am aware of anyway), so the DAC will not become obsolete in this sense. Just be certain that this holds true of the model you select. If your changer has a coaxial/digital out and/or a Tos Link out then it can be used with many DACs. The trick is finding one that you like the sound of. I did not find some of the "new" DAC's (as of a year ago) to be an improvement over the stock DAC in a CAL player, so care is needed when selecting a unit.

First of all , nice place to post the question... :-)
You will get better response if you put it in Digital.
It would be actually helpful if you specify your budget.
Generally speaking, stay away from changers…