Good CD player vs. Transport and DAC


Where am I going to get the best Digital playback? Going with a high end CD player or a transport and DAC? Also, what's the difference between a transport and a cd player if you are using an external dac with either one? I am thinking of an Oppo bdp 95 to use for cd play back since it seems to have a really nice dac (SABRE32 Reference ES9018 from ESS Technology). I am currently using a denon dvd 2900 and a musical fidelity v-dacII with pangea p100 power supply. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Thanks!
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Showing 4 responses by b_limo

Yeah, like I stated above, I am currently using a denon dvd 2900 connected to a musical fidelity v-dacII with an upgraded pangea p-100 power supply. I would like to get a better sounding digital set-up and am thinking about an oppo with a 32 bit sabre dac but am open to suggestions. Thanks again guys, and gals!
So from what I'm hearing you say is that the transport doesn't matter in terms of sound, just get a good dac? Not to sound redundant, but I'm using my denon dvd 2900 as a transport and using a musical fidelity v-dacII with an upgraded pangea p-100 power supply for the dac. If I want better digital playback, I should just concentrate on getting a better dac (a dac with asynchronus usb for future expansion into computer audio, I'm thinking, or I suppose I could just use the v-dacII for computer audio if necessary). Also, in terms of upgrading my dac, I have balanced inputs on my pre-amp that I'm not using...
zd542 & Doug Schroeder, Thanks for the knowledable responses. Okay, so to move forward, say you have $1,000 to spend on a digital source upgrade, where do I go from here? The reason why I was thinking about that oppo is because it seems to have a great dac (32 bit sabre...), it would serve as a transport, I could watch bluerays on it instead of my ps-3, and I could listen to pandora on it also. So, what do you guys recommend from here?
P.S. Doug, I've checked out your rig awhile back and it's really nice!
Doug, thanks again for the informative response! All out sound quality is really the goal. I can just watch blu-rays through the ps-3. No big deal. So next question, what DAC's should I start looking at if I am only wanting to spend $500-$1,000 (used is fine with me)? Remember, I am currently using a musical fidelity v-dacII with an upgraded power supply (pangea p-100), and I do like the sound this DAC provides, I just know that there is more to be had in terms of sound quality. My only source right now are c.d.'s, so a good dac is important to me. Also, I'm guessing that you just can't go by specs alone. I'm thinking there are dac's rated at 24/192 that sound better than 32/384; is this a correct assumption? If so, then, again, what dac's should I be looking at in the $500-$1,000 price range that are going to sound better than my current dac, or the oppo.