I agree with all of the statements above. Unfortunately, economics comes into play.
Most "one boxes" are built to a price point that is typically a little lower than a seperate DAC and Transport of the same appr retail. The "player" will typically use one power supply to feed both units whereas the two seperates will have their own power sources. Since much of digital is power supply related, seperates are typically slightly ahead right off the bat. This is not to say that a single box player can't be built to a higher standard. Obviously this is quite possible but also costs more money and chassis space.
If i had my choice, i would build / buy the best one box ( transport & DAC ) that could read CD's, DVD's, SACD's, etc... that i could afford. To further improve this, i would use a seperate box for a hefty power supply that was highly shielded and filtered. I'm waiting on a "one off" unit from a custom builder that is exactly as described. Unfortunately, the builder is not exactly "fast", so i'll probably be waiting a while. Sean
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Most "one boxes" are built to a price point that is typically a little lower than a seperate DAC and Transport of the same appr retail. The "player" will typically use one power supply to feed both units whereas the two seperates will have their own power sources. Since much of digital is power supply related, seperates are typically slightly ahead right off the bat. This is not to say that a single box player can't be built to a higher standard. Obviously this is quite possible but also costs more money and chassis space.
If i had my choice, i would build / buy the best one box ( transport & DAC ) that could read CD's, DVD's, SACD's, etc... that i could afford. To further improve this, i would use a seperate box for a hefty power supply that was highly shielded and filtered. I'm waiting on a "one off" unit from a custom builder that is exactly as described. Unfortunately, the builder is not exactly "fast", so i'll probably be waiting a while. Sean
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