If you're just starting out or looking to upgrade from a low cost cd player, then I think the transport and dac route is the way to go. It gives you more opportunities in the future to upgrade as technology evolves and/or prices go down. Also, there are some great deals and values available today in dacs and transports. However, I think you need to factor in a low cost jitter reduction device to get the best performance. For digital cables, you can start out with Apogees and upgrade later. I have been using the Aiwa changer for about a month and a half. Right out of the box, I was a little skeptical about it. (It certainly looks "different" when its playing with its flashing lights). For about 5 days, it would not lock into the secondary lock on my Audio Alchemy DTI pro but then it
seemed to stabilize. After about a month a half of use, the sound seems to have fleshed out some. Right out of the box it seemed a little lean and I had to compensate by changing some cables. Now it seems a little richer and I am going back to a more revealing cables into my dac and preamp. It still does not beat my Parasound CBT 2000 by any measure, but it's worth every penny of $80 or $90.
seemed to stabilize. After about a month a half of use, the sound seems to have fleshed out some. Right out of the box it seemed a little lean and I had to compensate by changing some cables. Now it seems a little richer and I am going back to a more revealing cables into my dac and preamp. It still does not beat my Parasound CBT 2000 by any measure, but it's worth every penny of $80 or $90.