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Please Recommend Transport + DAC for $5K total

My current Jolida cdp is growing pretty long in the tooth. I could just replace it with another cdp, but it seems more prudent to go with separate transport and DAC, at this point. Would prefer gear made in N. America. Total expenditure not to exceed 5K. I'm considering Sim Audio Moon 260CD or Bryston BDP-3 as a transport. The thing is, I prefer the option of demoing at home and I haven't (so far) found any vendors offering that option with the Sim Audio piece. As for a DAC, same thing: it has to be something I can try out at home, like a Schiit Yggy or Benchmark DAC2HGC. Can anyone suggest other possibilities, given these parameters? My system: Wells Audio Majestic Integrated, Silverline 17.5 monitors, JD100 cdp. Speaker wire: Audio Art SE. Power cables: Audio Art Statement. IC's: Audioquest Cheetah.  Thanks! 
stuartk

Showing 1 response by whart

whart's avatar
whart
3,143 posts
 
I am aiming for the same target, and pretty much decided on the Sim 260d as a transport only. Since I am only interested in Redbook, the Border Patrol with better power supply seems to be a pretty safe bet--old school R2R (chip), no oversampling, no filtering, tube power supply (that you can switch off, but keep the electronics on standby). If you don’t need the USB, it comes in pretty cheaply.
I also looked at the ANKits.
I know this reverses the priorities among digital cognoscenti (which I’m not, I’m a long time vinyl guy), but it seems like a safe bet to buy a decent transport and the Border Patrol appears to hit a sweet spot for Redbook. Have I listened to it? No. I doubt I will before I buy, which runs contrary to my usual approach. I’m willing to make a leap of faith here.

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