This is an interesting post--I do own a DCM360, and mine does not have a digital out--hence you cannot hookup an external DAC. I have found that monster interconnects (M550 or higher) do a nice job of warming up the sound and also improve the bass. I am using M1000i, which sound awesome!!! Of course, most people would consider it foolish to use a $200 cable on a $300 CDP. The only reason I do is that I have several systems, and so I took the M1000 out of a higher end system when I changed cables. Double check your back panel for a digital connection before you buy a DAC!
Will a DAC mellow Denon DCM 360
Will a low-end DAC help mellow the high freq edges of my Denon DCM 360 carousel. I've seen ads for the Soundstream DAC-1 ($100) and Musical Fidelity X-DAC ($70) around and wonder if they would be any help? Or is the money better spent on a different cd player? My system is Rotel RB-980BX amp(120 W), ROtel RC-972 pre-amp, B&W 601 series 2 speakers, DIY TNT-X 1.5 connects, and DIY Chris Venhaus Cat 5 (27 pair)teflon speaker cables. My current system sounds excellent for the $1,100 I paid (new speakers & stands, used electronics), except for the piercing highs on some cd's. The DIY cables & interconnects provided a great sonic improvement (excellent detail and soundstaging, much tighter bass) as compared to the cheap Radio Shack "Goldseries" connects and monster cable I was using. The only problem is that the better the interconnect/cables the more "edgey" highs that the CDP delivers.