Just thought I'd update on this post. The Denon DCM 370 is an extremely good CD player, but the only combo of cabling that made it bearable without a DAC was Mapleshade's Clearview Double Golden Helix Ultrathin interconnects and speaker cable. I made the mistake of selling those and very much regret it.
The DAC I got is a modded Adcom GDA600--it has new op amps and piggybacked extra DAC chips--which makes it a quite different animal from the standard Adcom GDA600. This thing is fast and sharp with imaging. That said--I would say that the most noticeable improvements with the DAC over the Denon DCM370 are much better detail resolution, clarity in imaging and a much more detailed soundstage. I notice the improvement particularly in detail resolution--I have (and you probably have)some CDs that sound like a mess of noise. The combo of the DAC and the Denon DCM370 has resolved so much of that junk and I can actually hear what the synthesizers, percussion, or the players in an orchestra are actually doing and I am enjoying those recordings more.
All that said, DAC's seem to vary in character as much as CD players do. I loved a Theta DSP Pro Prime that I listened to, didn't like a Muse Two (which was a Stereophile recommended component) because it was too soft sounding. I think this modded Adcom GDA 600 is perhaps just a tad too sharp for me, but I am still glad I added it to my system and it has hugely improved my listening experience.
I am using a Canare Digiflex Gold II coax cable and Siltech Paris MXT interconnects--both warm and tubelike.
I think the Denon DCM370 is probably one the great buys for sound and reliability with CD changers. I think it is worth tweaking.
The DAC I got is a modded Adcom GDA600--it has new op amps and piggybacked extra DAC chips--which makes it a quite different animal from the standard Adcom GDA600. This thing is fast and sharp with imaging. That said--I would say that the most noticeable improvements with the DAC over the Denon DCM370 are much better detail resolution, clarity in imaging and a much more detailed soundstage. I notice the improvement particularly in detail resolution--I have (and you probably have)some CDs that sound like a mess of noise. The combo of the DAC and the Denon DCM370 has resolved so much of that junk and I can actually hear what the synthesizers, percussion, or the players in an orchestra are actually doing and I am enjoying those recordings more.
All that said, DAC's seem to vary in character as much as CD players do. I loved a Theta DSP Pro Prime that I listened to, didn't like a Muse Two (which was a Stereophile recommended component) because it was too soft sounding. I think this modded Adcom GDA 600 is perhaps just a tad too sharp for me, but I am still glad I added it to my system and it has hugely improved my listening experience.
I am using a Canare Digiflex Gold II coax cable and Siltech Paris MXT interconnects--both warm and tubelike.
I think the Denon DCM370 is probably one the great buys for sound and reliability with CD changers. I think it is worth tweaking.