Replace CD player or add DAC?

Tubes in the front end have certainly sweetened my system. A Jolida CD player can be had for under a thousand, or more for the fancy upgrades. I have one of each and can hear some difference, though it is not too great. A Palette preamp also would clean up the sound, frequently for less than 900 on Audiogon. Lots of fun, don't break the bank.

Thanks for the insightful insights.
I have all the cables and music (over 1500 cd's), so improving the enjoyment/musicality of my listening sessions is my elusive goal, you all are familar with that slippery slope eh?
I'm thinking the Cary 303/200 CD player for around $1700 - although I like the idea of tubes somewhere in the front end, I'll have to wait until I upgrade the preamp, and go with tube's in that. But before that, will prolly kick the speakers up a notch... I'm struggling to avoid this upgrade addiction, once you hear your system make magic, the devil on your shoulder says more.. MORE.. MORE!
So, it seems we're saying the Cary 303/200 would sound better than Marantz CD67SE with a Trivista dac in this humble rig.

Keep it all, buy a pothaudio.com non-OS dac for $175. Plenty left for tweaks, cables, music and sanity. Speakers next, good luck.

The sourse is the most important part of you system. Depending on how much money you have to spend on a DAC look at MSB Tech the Gold linkIII is good at round $850 but for twice the money the Platium Dac is the way to go. Used it will range from $1800 to $2200 but you will have the makings of an unbelievable system.

Richmon,i have Studio 100s v2,CJ MF 2500A,i recently added a Supratek Chardonney preamp ,with great results,its a little more than you want to spend,it sure makes CDs sound great!

one thing at atime. leave the preamp, sell the cdp, and get either a used Naim or Meridian single box CDP. that was easy, wasn't it?

Well, I agree with both Hack & Jond. Having had Adcom preamps & the CD67se in my system in the past, my experience has been that both can be bettered considerably by numerous reasonably priced preamps & cd players. You will hear improvements with well chosen replacements of both. I know, the limitations of the budget,(sigh.) I really didn't care for the cd67se at all, it sounded strident to me. But your system/room may be different. A dac can certainly improve things, but the transport has to be a good one to realize the full benefit as Jond says. Probably, a good one box unit is the best buy. Long term, I'd think about replacing both if possible. Think about buying used to maximize bang for buck.

IMHO although dated your CDP really isn't that bad, and there's lots of articles on the 'net on how to modify CD players quite inexpensively. If I were you I'd consider upgrading your preamp, I think you'll hear an immediate improvement.

I would sell the Marantz and the MF and combine that $$ with the $1500 you already have and use that money to buy a new player. There are so many great players on here for
$15-1800 why not get one, upgrading your tranport and dac at the same time. There are so many great one box players on the market, new and used, that it seems pointless to go with seperates, unless you already have a great tranport or dac. But in your case, upgrading both is the ticket. Look for units from manufacturers such as Cary, Meridian, Gamut, and I'm sure others will chime in with brands I've forgotten. Good luck!