Looking for DAC/CD player solution

I think you should look at a pre-pro. Anthem is a good place to start. Parasound and Outlaw Audio are other options in this space. These products will work with all your equipment and are the most "digital centric."

There are integrated amps with built in DACs. Musical Fidelity makes the A1008, Bel Canto has the S300iu. This will help you avoid switching cables as much, but not address HDMI as well as a pre-pro.

For completeness there are CDPs with DACs that can be used by external sources. Wadia is one of the better known in this category.

Integrated Amplifier is not the same as a pre/pro. Neither Bel Canto nor Musical Fidelity make pre/pros. Go read up on the Anthem D2 and then let's talk some more.

Yes, you need a better CDP. The pre/pro, or int/amp/ with a DAC, can be used to process the sound from a cheap CDP (needs a digital out - does yours have one?) If it does, you can start by using it as a transport and letting your new pre/pro or int/amp wDAC handle sound processing.

"the Benchmark DAC1 Pre may be able to handle all the sources "

Nope - it won't handle the HDMI from the computer or the Blu-Ray player. Indie, it's hard to setup a system w/o knowing how you intend to use the system. For example, you could use your new computer for all source material and feed it to a pre/pro via USB, HDMI. You can do this for MP3, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray!, Netflix, and Rhapsody. If you go that way, you don't need to buy a new DVD player (you still could, but you don't have to). This is why I'm not answering the "what BR player should I buy" buy question. You need to think about how you want to use the system and let us know. To rephrase, you've told us what you want to use it for, but not really how you want to use it. A pre/pro is nice and neat, with lots of digital expansion possibilities. An integrated amp DAC is "messier" and leaves you w/o any central control point so it's likely to just grow more unmanageable over time. Only you really know if you want your system to be elegantly simple or simply complex.

Your turn :)

OK, thanks for all that info. First, let me answer your question: "What is a transport?"

Using a CDP as a transport means that you don't use the analog outputs of the CDP, only the digital outputs. When you do this, the sound of your CDP is really the sound of your DAC (which could be stand-alone like Benchmark 1 or Pre, in the integrated amp like the Musical Fidelity A5.5, or in the Pre/Pro/AVR). Doesn't really matter, the key is that the sound is not really coming from the CDP - it's from the DAC.

So, I'd suggest getting the Oppo 980H and use it as a transport to feed your DAC. If you want to get blu-ray then wait for the BD-983. As cheap as the 980H is, you can get it now and get the BD-983 after your system is together and sounding fine. The goal here is to buy one great DAC and not waste money on DACs and analog out for each source component. Hope that is clear.

Indie, you've listed lots of source components with a mix of digital and analog sources. So, as Bob recommended earlier, the Benchmark DAC Pre is probably your best bet here. Because it is a pre-amp, you don't really need an integrated amp like the A5. This is because the A5 is both a pre-amp and an amp so you'd end up with 2 pre-amps. On the other hand, you have a lot of sources and the Benchmark has limited input connections, so the extra inputs on the A5 could save you some cable swapping. Your call, but I'd just buy an amp and connect the DAC Pre straight to it. You can always buy another pre-amp (or pre/pro) later.

So this leaves you with what amp to buy. I recommend you start a new thread and ask what amp to buy to drive your speakers and go from there.

IMO, cables are not that important. By that I mean, do not over spend. Your cables sound fine, and I'd just keep them until you get your system set up. (FYI - your coaxial/optical cable question does not make any sense to me). As Chad recommends, you should map out your system, with connection and connection types (USB, RCA, SPDIF, speaker wire, etc) to get a feel for how your system will operate. If you do it in powerpoint and save it as a jpg, you can post it and get feedback.