I have two. This cheapo 5 disc player works exceptionaly well with 24/96 dacs that use sigma/delta D/A converters. Apparently, this particular type of converter has a high immunity to jitter, because of the input reciever that it is paired with. This then allows the Aiwa to sound as good as highly regarded transports, such as the Wadias'. (A group of 5 audiophiles did a transport comarison comparing the Awia, and 8 other various transports to the Wadia. They had hoped to find one that was close in sound, but much cheaper. Imagine when one of the real cheapo units was identical in sound! This was the Awia. (BTW the other transports in the test fell way short of these two) If you have, or plan to purchace a DAC with the above aformentioned converters, do yourself a favor and buy the Awia.
Stan's mod to the Awia is also very brilliant. He gets rid of the optical connector cable all together, by electricaly removing the opto output LED, and wiring in a much better LED, which is wired from the Aiwa's circuit board to a long wire. This "LED" on a wire is then plugged directly into the input of your DAC's optical input. The distance between the optcal output and input devices is then less than 1/64 of an inch of Air! How's that for a short optical connection! Why nobody ever thought of this connection before is beyond me. Sonicaly, everything seems to be slightly improved sonicaly, (as compared to the best optical connection)...better depth, bass, details and smoother highs. Sort of what you would expect from a top rate cable purchace. His mod is much cheaper than most of the good optical cables too. It is both theroticaly and realisticaly better sounding than any other optical offering on the market today. Remember, this Awia only shines with certain kinds of DAC's like the MSB link. If your DAC qualifies, then you can save a bundle of money and get absolute world class performance.
