jukebox w. DAC, can it be good?

The Pioneer Elite PD-F27 holds 301 CD's and has both a Toslink digital out and a coax digital out. I'm using an EVS Millenium II DAC with it and an Illuminations D-60 interconnect. I'm very happy with the sound. I also have a Denon 2800 and when I've compared them it is pretty tough to say which sounds better. I've never compared my set up to a top of the line single transport. But a few of my friends who have single players agree that my current set up sounds on par with theirs. Before I got the EVS DAC I was using an MSB Link DAC III connected with a Toslink cable. That sounded good as well. I tried a Marantz 9100 changer and the only reason I did not keep it was that it does not have a coax digital out, only a Toslink. I couldn't connect to the EVS DAC as it does not have a Toslink input. The Marantz did sound very good however on its own. You may be happy with it without even using a DAC. I know Sony and some others make changers too but I've had no experience with them.

While I haven't used a jukebox as a transport, I would strongly recommend a jitter reduction device such as an Audio Alchemy DTI 2.0 or Pro. I would also suggest a more "forgiving" or rich sounding dac such as a Micromega DUO BS2. Another option would be to investigate the Art DI/O as a possible dac or even to take the analog out of the jukebox and convert to digital and back, using the tube warmth and upsampling capabilities of the Art DI/O.

Sony has a bunch of changers, but spend a bit extra and get one of their ES models. They hold about 400 CDs. I've got 3 of them hooked up to a very nice system, and while it's not the last word in audio, it's a bunch of fun to hit random play and let the tunes roll. Very decent sound, and it doesn't preclude you from someday getting a nice CD player for "serious" listening. -Kirk