Both the DAC and transport have to be upgraded to embrace all formats. Like you, I have been in the same quandary. I have over 3500 CDs. My solution has been the purchase of the dCS Delius (DAC) and Purcell (upsampler) - a very costly outlay! I believe dCS and other manufacturers will be producing a transport soon which will be able to play all the formats. dCS have mentioned that their DACs will play all formats and are upgradeable at no extra cost (simply by downloading the new software over the internet) - sounds like star wars! This is one company that seems to have lead the field in the technology and ease of upgrade-ability. Goldmund, mbl, Levinson, etc are excellent products, but are not cheap, generally, and it may still be quite awhile before they produce gear which is compatible with all the formats. People who own these products at present may find that they are not modifiable in the future, or upgradeablity will involve quite a sum ($). As far as I know, they do not produce upsampling devices which I feel are so important if one wishes to extract everything from one's current CD collection. Will be glad to hear other views.
SACD- Is it the DAC or the Transport ?
Is there any part of a "current" DAC or Transport that is usable with the SACD format. ...or is does the SACD format require both DAC AND transport to be "SACD"? I'm thinking about buying a new outboard DAC but don't want to shut myself out from SACD, which is definitly MUCH BETTER than regular CD. Any suggestions on which route to take? Thanks!