Thoughts on using the DAC in my oppo 205 with a CD Transport.

I agree with audphile1, and at a later date when finances are there upgrade to a better transport. I was in your exact position years ago and found that a dedicated Dac and transport there was a big improvement.

I tend to think it’s the DAC, as the above posters have said.  I use my Oppo 105 as a disc transport into my Bryston DAC3.

  However…transports matter…and it would be interesting to hear what happens when a dedicated CD transport is used.  I suspect it will improve things.  

Well, it seems my thinking has been flawed. I'm happy I decided to post about this, as I probably would have decided to try the CDT route.

So now having to shift gears, can you guys offer me thoughts on DAC's (would like to stay under $1500) and not opposed to buying used. The Gustard A26 sounds like a possibility, it has a nice assortment of inputs (I do want optical, coaxial, and USB) to keep most future options available.

I also saw the  BorderPatrol SE-i DAC looks nice; I like the fact it's made in the USA. But basically priced a bit high for me, also no optical input option.

Open to suggestions.

Chord Qutest, Benchmark DAC 3, Bryston BDA-3 (closer to $2k) 

Chord and Bryston are more musical than benchmark  

There are others but I listed what I had experience with  

It's the DAC in your Oppo that's holding things back, not the transport.  I use my Oppo as a transport, sending the HDMI out signal to a much better DAC.  It sounds like you've figured out that is the route to take.  

With those beryllium tweeters, you might want to look at R2R or FPGA DACs.  Sorry, I don't have a specific recommendation, my last DAC in that price range was the MHDT Labs Orchid, which is very good, but probably a little outdated compared to some of the newer offerings.