This question about transports is very critical to me also these days. I've spent much time wrestling, internally with it. I keep wondering should I get a real kick-ass megabucks transport or a megabuck DAC or CD player? But in the end some experiences showed me the way to go. Currently I have an MSB Link Dac (fed by a Proceed PDT3 transport, no slouch). I really like it in fact, I mean I like its basic sonic character: dynamic, harmnonically rich and detailed also. Ok sure, maybe it's not a Mark Levinson, but also, maybe the sonic character of a Mark Lev would not appeal to me for whatever reason.
So my point is, liking the basic sound of the Link Dac, how do I proceed to improve it? I currently use a Audio Alchemy DTI jitter box. It DOES help a lot. Much more insight into the harmonic structure, much more "interesting" sound that is more like real music, BUT it still sounds like the Link Dac. I tried once the Perpetual Tech P1a, which performs the same function as the AA DTI pro, but it's funny that the P1a actually totally changed the sound of the Link -- much more refined, more detailed, etc., etc.. Although I found some things to dislike about the P1a, what I did discover is that WHEN FED A VERY LOW JITTER SIGNAL, the Link was capable of incredibly upgraded performance. So this is a function that COULD be served by a megabuck transport, OR by a jitter box such as DTI Pro or maybe the Genesis Digital Lens. So answer: if you LIKE the basic sonic sound of the your DAC, but want just a bit more depth, musicality, detail from it, then the anti-jitter boxes may be a possible solution; some can be obtained used for quite decent prices. The amount of difference the jitter device is unknown until you try, but most reviews state that it almost always makes some improvement except for the best (most expensive) transport/Dac combos.
So my point is, liking the basic sound of the Link Dac, how do I proceed to improve it? I currently use a Audio Alchemy DTI jitter box. It DOES help a lot. Much more insight into the harmonic structure, much more "interesting" sound that is more like real music, BUT it still sounds like the Link Dac. I tried once the Perpetual Tech P1a, which performs the same function as the AA DTI pro, but it's funny that the P1a actually totally changed the sound of the Link -- much more refined, more detailed, etc., etc.. Although I found some things to dislike about the P1a, what I did discover is that WHEN FED A VERY LOW JITTER SIGNAL, the Link was capable of incredibly upgraded performance. So this is a function that COULD be served by a megabuck transport, OR by a jitter box such as DTI Pro or maybe the Genesis Digital Lens. So answer: if you LIKE the basic sonic sound of the your DAC, but want just a bit more depth, musicality, detail from it, then the anti-jitter boxes may be a possible solution; some can be obtained used for quite decent prices. The amount of difference the jitter device is unknown until you try, but most reviews state that it almost always makes some improvement except for the best (most expensive) transport/Dac combos.