I would like to second the Audio Research CD player / DAC. It is a tremendous DAC / CD player.
I was very happy with my Sim Moon 650D / SIMM Moon 820 power supply ($18K). My dealer dropped a ARC Reference CD9se for me to try while dropping off something else. I did not ask, I was not in the market. I put it in my storage room. After a few weeks I started to feel guilty… I mean, it was really nice of him. I really respect his opinion. Ok, I pulled it out and put it in my system. It was much less than 30 seconds and I said, “shit, where am I going to get the money?” No way this is ever leaving my system.. Within a minute I was typing a message to him to order one for me. One of the best components I have ever heard.
Months later… having long ago received my copy of the Ref 9SE and broken it in. My dealer lent me a Berkeley Alpha Reference DAC ($22K). I read the reviews, I was expecting to end up buying it. He left it for several weeks. BYW, I have a Aurender W20SE streamer and typically stream most of the time…. The streamer sounds exactly the same as red book CDs on the CD transport on the ARC CD9SE… but better when Qobuz streams higher resolution files (btw, equal to my really good vinyl playback).
Anyway, the difference between the ARC as a DAC and the Berkeley was simply so small to be noticed by anyone but a very experienced audiophile. I liked (a tiny bit warmer and more natural) the ARC better despite its $5K higher cost. The Berkeley had a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more detail and was really natural sounding… but the ARC won. If I owned the Berkeley I would have coughed up the $5K for the ARC… and you get the CD transport free… what a bargain.
