I tried it and gave up. Medium priced CD players (marantz and Denon) don't have high enough quality volume controls with enough steps. I was told that they can be modified but is it worth it? Secondly, the ones I experimented with only controlled volume for the analogue outputs. This meant that I was stuck with the internal DAC.
My solution was a Creek OBH-12 passive pre-amp until my budget allowed more. The Creek is totally transparent but the IR sensor tended to pick up too many stray signals and was always going louder/softer when I used a different remote. The other deal out there is an Audio Alchemy D/A with a built in volume. The quality is great. Try www.jeffsoundvalues.com or www.upscaleaudio.com to find these.
My solution was a Creek OBH-12 passive pre-amp until my budget allowed more. The Creek is totally transparent but the IR sensor tended to pick up too many stray signals and was always going louder/softer when I used a different remote. The other deal out there is an Audio Alchemy D/A with a built in volume. The quality is great. Try www.jeffsoundvalues.com or www.upscaleaudio.com to find these.