dac or new cd player

Generally speaking, carousel players make poor transports. They tend to produce high amounts of jitter. For less than what you'd end up spending on a quality DAC and a high quality interconnect, you'd likely get better results with a new single CD player. Some of the new units from Arcam, Musical Fidelity, Sim Audio, to just name three, are achieving sound quality that would cost and order of magnitude more just a few years ago.

If you tell us your budget, I, and perhaps others, can recommend some units.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

I guess I'll beg to differ about changers, when you consider that one of the best bang for your buck transports ever is a 5 disc Aiwa carousel changer that sold for less than a $100.
There are lots of audiophiles out there who can afford an expensive unit, but still use the Aiwa.

A DVD actually needs a more stable mechanism than a CD, so it may be just fine. There are some tricks to stablize the DVD player further, like putting a 5 lbs bag of sand or shot on top.

But anyway, Duddley is very correct that there are some very nice moderately priced single disc CD player out there currently.

It will come down to your budget. If your budget is small, then a DAC will get you a lot more performance for your $$. If you have a little money to burn, then a single disc player is worth exploring also.

I'm with Duddley ... the transport makes a big difference to the sound (yes it really surprised me!) and a Yamaha carousel is more than likely a bad transport. An Arcam player might give you a bit more sparkle.

thanks for the input, i was thinking of the perpetual p3a dac and having donwright.com do the upgrades for about 400.
i really do not have more than 1200 for this part of my system

A blanket dismissal of all 5 disc players may be unfair. I plan on adding a single disc player to my system in the very near future, and have had the opportunity to audition about a dozen or so in my system at home. From those auditions I have concluded that my choice would be from the Ayre CX-7 (definitely the best, if I am willing to shell out the dollars), Audio Aero Prima (unmatched bang for the buck), and Cairn Fog w/upsampling (my wife still talks of the sweet sound, I hated the ergonomics). Meanwhile, since I have always liked the DVD capabilities of my Sony DVP-C600D 5 disc changer, and intend to keep it, I decided to try out some DIY upgrades. I admit to no prior experience with this stuff. I started out by taking out the 2 prong AC cord, and replacing it with a Connex IEC filtered male connector (I did use a repair shop for a crucial step, connectint the IEC wires to the old pin that fits into the board). Then I started to experiment with power cords, and voila, the Sony has taken on a new life. Currently, my PC of of choice is the Essential Sound AV Power Flow. The CD play sound from my system definitely surpasses the sound I achieved with any but the 3 players listed above. The sound is very musical, with good resolution, soundstage depth, and non fatiguing. I have also since introduced a couple of DACs into the mix, but found they added nothing. This experience has further opened my eyes to the impact of power supplies on system performance, and contributed to making this hobby even more satisfying. This is definitely a fun journey.

Couvajazz ... I don't see any blanket dismissals, just a warning that cheap CD players used as a transport for an expensive DAC is a bit of a crapshoot.