PS Audio DLIII w/ Cullen level 4 vs Transporter

I have compared the PS Audio DLIII DAC w/ Cullen Level 3 Mods and a stock Logitech Transporter. It may be system dependent so YMMV but I preferred the Transporter. I thought that the DLIII with the Mods was close but that the midrange of the TP was better. The convenience factor was part of my decision as well.

If you go with the PS Audio piece do not use the USB input. I bought a HagTech converter and it sounded much better using the S/PDIF input. When using the USB input the TP was way better across the board. The Level 4 mod added some change to the S/PDIF which may also effect the sound quality and might favor the DLIII over the TP.

I used balanced interconnects for both pieces and since your MF has only SE inputs you should probably get some additional feedback.

I also compared the DLIII/Cullen with the Benchmark DAC1 and thought the DLIII/Cullen was much better. Again, depending on your system YMMV and hearing the options in your own system would give you the best evaluation.

I have subsequently upgraded my TP with the Modwright upgrades, which is better still.

I had a DL3 with level 3 mod (same as level 4 minus the phase balance on the SPDiff - which was handled by my Cullen moded Sonos).

The basic nature of the sound signatures are that the Transport is going to be on the traditional refined sound while the DL3 is going to be a more on the vivid side of things. The stock transport left me wanting for a little more emotional impact, but the DL3 may be a little bright if you aren't into the vivid sound. The ModWright Transport blows the doors off of both in my view and the convenience is pretty cool. See this Sonic Flare article for clarity on the different sonic signatures.

I'd encourage you to investigate the PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC if you are willing to spend a little more. You are going to get performance on par with the ModWright Transport and the future network bridge means networked audio without having to use a computer.

If saving $$ is your objective, check with PS Audio - they took a ton of units on trade and they likely have a Cullen Mod DL3 for cheap (I traded mine in).