NOS DAC or CDP?


Recently I had to get rid of two of my CDPs (Jolida JD-100 and NAD C542) for finacial reasons. In doing so, I've had to go back to using my old Onkyo DX-C540 changer. Now it's not a bad sounding player for what it is, which is a Mid-FI changer circa late 90s. But both the NAD and Jolida certainly bested it in all areas of performance, and yes, I'm missing that level of performance. In any case am thinking down the road of either getting another CDP (possibly another NAD or used Jolida) or maybe going the NOS DAC route. I'm thinking of going the NOS DAC route as the Onkyo DOES have a optical output, and I think that it might make a decent transport, and give me changer capabilities. In addition, from what I've been reading the NOS DAC would probably give me the warm, musical presentation that I enjoyed with both the NAD and Jolida players. Also it appears that many of the NOS DACs fall within the "price point" that I would like to keep (less than $500). BTW, I consider myself more a "music lover" than an "audiophile", and going the DAC route would certainly be something new for me. Anyway, appreciate thoughs and suggestions from the community on which road they might go down and why they so. Thanks.
cleaneduphippy
Use a computer for your transport and check the Buzz at headfi.org for the current budget giant killer DACs .
The headphone crowd or in ear device group is very DAC minded for some reason. They like expensive bicyles and getting hurt on board sports even moutaineering is still quite admired. To appreciate the beauty of a broken clavicle you must be young and invincible. If you are young your broke and therefore always looking for low cost solutions.
My financial life has found new lows and is getting worse, but I see no benefit in spending a lot on separates when you can do well with an old newbie solution like mH CD-25. Just got my last material big object for the foreseeable future a desktop computer with 4 CPUs and 5 megs or something nuts and tons of storage like 2 log more than the RAM.
I am going to be bold and try a new thing at 50 the music server. I will use my outdated or "vintage" non picture phone to download very compressed and information challenged music by using a novel approach to an ancient Ideal. The very SET like decontented elemental pure and simple music file system I wrote. It's lost info for eternity routed files and shareware named LIFER (TM)
Get this most viridea are too large to make it onto one of the constantantly looping bits and bytes with a decoding clock that sets to an oscilating 12AT7 clock although a reasonably cheap Quartz watch would have at leat a trillion less errors pure hour that the tube oscilator timing resets will need. So we will put the tube at the recieving end of of a tube buffer for impedance reduction decogestant where it will not affect the sound at all but people like to know that a tube is in there DAC. And yes NOS recieving tubes do a much worse job but somehow still exceed all expectations by having even less of an effect on the sound. Incedible.
In truth I will be going wireless at the output level where the US Naval Observatory Atomic Clock wich sends out the correct time to virtually anyone who can find the time on a cell phone unwittingly takes advantage of. That Platinum meter bar in France thats a tricky one.
Look at Valab NOS DAC on the Bay at $200 shipped, I use it at my office streaming Pandora or FM stations as well as playing music from my PC through a USB port. I hooked it up to my vintage McIntosh MAC 1900 receiver and it sounds really good (Monitor Audio bookshelf speakers).

It runs a little hot, also can pop when turn on/off. But it sounds really good with my Mc.

At home, I am using DACMagic from Cambridge Audio, $400 from Audio Advisor. You can occasionally get one for less on Agon. I feed it to my McIntosh MA6600 to my B&W speakers. While these are two different systems (should not be used to compare DAC, I prefer the system at work with the NOS DAC.

DACMagic is a nicer with Upsampling ++ Filters, Balanced out, etc. I also saw "litte dot" with USB port on the Bay, but the listing expired, quite an interesting DAC for about $310 shipped, you can choose to either oversample or NOS, it runs 24/44.1 or 24/192. The Valab is 16/44.1 (most USBs limit is 16/44.1 except Benchmark at $1300, its USB goes up to 24/192).

I really like the Valab, the DACMagic is a very popular unit that they run out of stock quite frequently.

mP
Valab is a musical sounding NOS DAC for $200 shipped. There is a review here on audiogon and also lots of discussion on Head-Fi.
First of all thanks for the responds so far (and please keep them coming). First of all if I go the NOS DAC route, I would be running the DAC between the changer/transport and my amp (Jolida 502a), basically not thinking of going the computer route (call me "old fashion"). Btw, I've heard of the Valab and the Paradisea, and have been reading the various reviews and comments on those units. I also wandered over to the Pacific Valve and Audio site, to check out some their offerings.

Here's the four I'd most likely be interested in.

Pacfic Valve Fathom DAC
Giga Lab Moon DAC
Lite DAC AH
DAC AH Modified

So curious on whether anybody has an experience with these units, or even dealing with Pacific Valve and Electric and what their thoughs might be. Again, thanks.