Will a new Dac improve the sound?

i guess i'm wondering what would be a good fit to bring out the best sound possible with a digital source.

Holy crap!  You’ve now been asked twice what would represent “improvements” to you.  Better soundstage, more detail, etc.  What are u looking for???  Without this info this post is near useless and will just give u individual opinions that may or may not coincide with yours.  If you can’t elucidate what specifically you’re looking to improve, this post is near useless. 

gary

1.  what speakers are you using?

2.  when you think about improvements in sound as played by your system, what are the first few elements that come to mind?   (i wish i had deeper, more well defined bass... or a lot of the time many cd's sound harsh and gritty... i feel like all the voices and instruments are on top of each other, in one big mish-mash... and so on...)

jjss49 ... I'm looking to have the cd's sound less harsh and piercing. Maybe a little more warmth. The soundstage is fine. Bass is lacking , but that needs to be fixed with some subs( next hurdle).Speakers are electrostatic.

iirc gary your cary cd-1 player is solid state output stage with ad pcm1792 chipset, very common in cdp’s in that time frame, it was known to be a little brash and thin sounding feeding a typical ss output stage, not surprised with your setup with electrostats the digital sizzle will play through

if you want to stick to your cdp for now, just use its digital out, i would suggest (in order of preference) an mhdt r2r tube buffered dac (orchid havana or atlantis), lesser choices being a musical paradise tube unit, or a border patrol dac - all in your stated price range... with these the sound will have more body and richness, less sibilance/harshness, sound more analog if you will

these dacs come up used but re-sell quickly (as many are looking for a similar solution to typical modest budget digital playback ills) or you can just buy new, still within your budget....

with pure electrostat speakers, yes you'll likely need a separate solution for better bass impact, chances are that aspect won’t be solved with a dac

also, the streaming option pointed out by another poster earlier is also worth serious consideration if you are willing to head in that direction... i would!

good luck

I recently tried some pucks because my sim has built in cones (older model 5.3)...i have been doing the diy speaker cables and a set i was just not quite happy with...well i had 5.3 amp years back which the previous owner sent along little pucks and told me there not much to look at but they work...6 years later i tried them and wow...wow everything dialed in...bigger sound stage less "distorted sound’ no more slightly bloated bass,...was like cleaned window.Decoupled from top shelve/less vibration...Just a thought rather than new dac.I was leaning that way too...not anymore.