I asked the dealer if u could take home the Mac to demo on my system and he said he can’t do it. So I don’t even know if it’s worth hearing it on their Mac system.
So, the dealer has a chance at a $12k sale and he won’t let you take his demo unit home for a couple days??? Run away!!! U gotta be kidding me. I wouldn’t give that guy a sale on principle alone. And I agree that listening to it thru all their Mac gear would be basically useless as that system will no doubt bear no resemblance to yours whatsoever and would be impossible to “listen through” to assess what the CDP really sounds like, and of course it’s not in your room either soooo…writing’s on the wall I’d think. Personally, if my system had a lot of ARC gear in it and I loved the sound I wouldn’t let a Mac piece near my system as they’re pretty much polar opposites sound wise. But that’s me.
Plus, there are obviously some other great CDP options out there (although dwindling as DACs/streaming rapidly take over the world) and several have already been mentioned above. If I was you I’d absolutely get the ARC DAC9 as you clearly like the ARC house sound and it’d obviously synergize with your system/tastes and pair it with a Jay’s Audio transport — I know you’re looking for a one-box solution but I just couldn’t help myself. Sorry. FWIW, and best of luck in your quest.