Upsampling/Advice on Transport

Alot of good suggestions have already been made. I'll add that I have been auditioning the Aiwa changer/MSB III with upsampling combo for about two weeks now. My comparison is to a Roksan Caspian CD Player. Honestly, I'm still not sure the Aiwa/MSB is better than my Roksan, even with upsampling; though instruments do sound more relaxed and natural. It certainly is cheaper - $650 vs. $1600. Transports are IMO a very important part of the digital chain. That said, you can't always judge a book by its cover. Don't mistake expensive for good; or inexpensive for garbage. The Aiwa was recommended by the Chicage Audio Society (don't remember if they are the originators or just propogated someone elses findings). At $90 it was worth the audition. After all, I've spent more on brass cones! I have spoken with Stan Warren about his mod to the Aiwa. It sounds reasonable. Rather than try to regurgitate something I only half understood, here is his number: 541.344.3696. He is great a guy and fun to talk to. Hope this helps. After I've spent more time with this combo I'll post my observations. One initial observation is that consumers must be attracted to lots of bright flashing lights. The Aiwa has them in spades - and you can't turn the darn things off!

You may want to try a jitter reduction device with the Aiwa changer, especially if you do not get the Stan Warren mod. I have the Aiwa and while it is better than you would think for $90, it improves alot when used with an AA DTI Pro. I also have 2 of the Radio Shack 3400's, which I have used as transports, and they also benefitted significantly from jitter reduction devices although they will not work with a DTI Pro (secondary lock won't engage). I have used AA DTI and DTI 2.0 with the Radio Shacks.

This is a fantastic thread with very good posts! I've learned a lot just reading through the responses. This is of great interest to me because I am considering upgrading my Musical Fidelity Elextra E60 CD player by adding an anti-jitter device like the Monarchy DIP and a Bel Canto DAC 1.1. One question though. Is the length of the digital cable as critical as I've heard some people say? I've heard that 1 meter is the absolute shortest run that can be used without adding too much jitter.

I am not a techie and so I do not understand why, but there is something about the length of the digital cable. I have tried a 1/2 meter and 1 meter lengths of identical brand digital cables and the 1/2 meter sounded worse-a little brighter and definitely grainier. I have read, although I can't rememeber where, that 1 and 1/2 meters would be the ideal minimum length for a digital cable.

Joe_b.

Regarding your experience with varying lengths of digital cables, and their performance, I've lifted an excerpt from the FAQ page at the Bel Canto website as follows:

"NOTE: We suggest if you are using Toslink, make the toslink the longer cable and the RCA cables going to your preamp short. If you are using RCA type digital cable, make the digital cable short and the RCA’s cables going to your preamp longer."

It seems that your real world experience matches the advice given by Bel Canto. I am no techie either, but I have also heard the 1 1/2 meter length as being the minimum for a digital cable in order to avoid excess jitter. Interesting...