One box player or transport/dac????

[tackleberry]

Do I buy a transport/dac or buy another one box cd player??

Was looking to spend around £750 on each or, say £1500 on a one box. (The one in mind is a used meridian G08)

I currently run a musical fidelity A3.2cd that retailed at £1000, This will be sold. I wish to upgrade to a used £1500 setup.

I have never had a transport/Dac before, what if any are the sonic benefits in my case, to the two box set up, or would the rule of thumb be to spend a little more to make it a worthwhile upgrade on my already spent £1000???

What would be the best option????

[nic]

that's a lot of money.... don't think you need spend so much. Top loading as opposed to drawer mechanism is what I'd use. Separate allows more messing around and experimenting. Can't think of anything off hand. Will revert when i have.

Thought about using Non-oversampling?

N

Do I buy a transport/dac or buy another one box cd player??

Was looking to spend around £750 on each or, say £1500 on a one box. (The one in mind is a used meridian G08)

I currently run a musical fidelity A3.2cd that retailed at £1000, This will be sold. I wish to upgrade to a used £1500 setup.

I have never had a transport/Dac before, what if any are the sonic benefits in my case, to the two box set up, or would the rule of thumb be to spend a little more to make it a worthwhile upgrade on my already spent £1000???

What would be the best option????

[Eustacius]

I also think that it is bit much... There is a lot in that "transaction" that could go into music instead.

Do you have a really huge cd-collection? Have you thought about ripping it all to discs or solid state? It would eliminate that (ridiculous IMHO) transport. If you do, you could put more money into the DAC and/or experiment more with that stage.

Most well designed combinations of computer audio (ripping, playback) are bit perfect, which means that more focus could be laid on the DAC.

There are also some fine DAC-kits out there!

[tackleberry]

Top loader was a thought of mine too.. what is your opinion on non oversampling players?

Also, I dont want my computer to be a part of the system just yet, although the dac I decide on will prob have usb..

[nic]

Top loader was a thought of mine too.. what is your opinion on non oversampling players?

love them. more "analogue" in sound. warmth etc detailed enough for me. I'm using a Naim CD3. Check out the new NOS offerings on ebay... not too expensive for experimentation.

Having said that, oppo is a brand that gets a lot of plaudits. one box solution. not a top loader, not non oversampling.....

But very good for the price. I use an older one, it caused me to sell off an expensive, well regarded DAC.
Yes it's a blu-ray player, but it does red book CDs very well too. http://www.oppodigital.com/players.asp

Digital in some ways is still evolving, like computers, so I am now wary about spending on it... Analogue is more stable in that regard. Look at this site!
At the love there is for the Sony PS-1 or Philips 104,304.. apart from all things analogue.

[tackleberry]

Really not sure which line to go down if I'm honest, just descovering vinyl really, being an 80's child i'm swamped with cds and just starting to listen to the lenco.

Much prefer the vinyl sound, but not in my comfort zone about buying cartridges, vinyl and setup. mm or mc either???

[daiwok]

I don't use a CD player at all ..... well only when some people want to play CD on my system ..... check out the CAS thread ......

http://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=5837.0

cheap as chips and lots of options

[ian]

Since I went down the computer audio route I've never had so much fun from digital media nor enjoyed such sound quality from it.  You can buy a dedicated and headless (no monitor or keyboard) mini-ITX based computer that will sit on your rack that will take hundreds of CD's in lossless format.  Once you've gone through the pain of ripping all your CD's it's then great fun making up playlists etc.  You can control playback from a laptop iPod or other similar devices from your armchair.  A vortexbox based computer will set you back less than £300 giving you lots of money for a decent DAC and you won't look back.