I have used players that beat combos, and combos that beat players. Much depends on the quality of the components and the cables used.
You do not necessarily need a high end transport to get extremely good results. You happen to have a player that I also own. I have used the 2900 with the Opamp enhanced Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (reviewed) and have had good enough results that to my ears it bests a few $1,500-5K players/combos and even beyond that I've compared directly.
Now, if the transport is upgraded, this also can be efficacious. I just this weekend have been listening to a player which I am considering buying. I have tried it last night as a transport to the EE DAC and it's a marked improvement, however it's also quite a bit more money than the 2900. I would not overweight the importance of either the transport or the DAC; both are critical to the sound of the digital media. You short one end of the combo and you'll pay by being shorted on the sound.
The digital cable is also of importance, but I certainly would not suggest it being more or less important than these other elements. The transport, digital cable and DAC are all critical to achieving the ultimate result - I've used multiples of all of them to arrive at that conclusion. It is very helpful to have on hand two or three digital cables/interconnects which can be used to experiment in finding a pleasing sound. I have found typically the AES/EBU link to be the best if available. Barring that the next best link would be the coax. digital (S/PDIF).
If you wish to discuss the use of the 2900 with the Minimax further feel free to email me.
You do not necessarily need a high end transport to get extremely good results. You happen to have a player that I also own. I have used the 2900 with the Opamp enhanced Eastern Electric Minimax DAC (reviewed) and have had good enough results that to my ears it bests a few $1,500-5K players/combos and even beyond that I've compared directly.
Now, if the transport is upgraded, this also can be efficacious. I just this weekend have been listening to a player which I am considering buying. I have tried it last night as a transport to the EE DAC and it's a marked improvement, however it's also quite a bit more money than the 2900. I would not overweight the importance of either the transport or the DAC; both are critical to the sound of the digital media. You short one end of the combo and you'll pay by being shorted on the sound.
The digital cable is also of importance, but I certainly would not suggest it being more or less important than these other elements. The transport, digital cable and DAC are all critical to achieving the ultimate result - I've used multiples of all of them to arrive at that conclusion. It is very helpful to have on hand two or three digital cables/interconnects which can be used to experiment in finding a pleasing sound. I have found typically the AES/EBU link to be the best if available. Barring that the next best link would be the coax. digital (S/PDIF).
If you wish to discuss the use of the 2900 with the Minimax further feel free to email me.