Multibit DACs in new or newish CD Players


Subject to my being able to break into the family vault and sneak out with US$10k-US$15k, I would like to upgrade my very old and trust Philips/Marantz CD-80. It is a heavily modified unit, done by the previous owner. It has served me well but the time has come to put it out to pasture (whirring transport and other minor niggles).

I have heard some, but not all of the players with some of the latest generation DACs and to my plastic ears, they dont make music like my trusty Garrard does. While my CD-80 is no comparison, it at least lets me forget about the medium that it is being played through - a big thing for me as I am not a gear hound.

Therefore, what current production machines have multibit DACs - such as the 1541A and PCM63? It doesnt have to be these particular chipsets but definitely multibit era as I feel their priorities were still right back then.

I know of Zanden with their DAC and Player (pushing the boat out on my budget) and also Resolution Audio with the Opus.

I am in no rush and would rather take my time to find the right machine (new or second hand) as I intend to keep it for a good few years.

Apologies to the computer audio crowd as technology is a means and not an end for moi. But heck, if it can do computer audio as well, I would not say no.

Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
analoguecamera

Showing 1 response by dob

Esoteric D-05 DAC, SA-50 SACD/CD Player/DAC/Preamp. Its DAC can be used with music server as it has hi-rez digital inputs as well as USB; may be other Esoteric models.

My friend bought SA-50 and sent to modification to Alex Pechev where Alex remove their DAC and uses the latest and probably the best 32 multi bit D/A -AK4399 with his analog stage and power supplies. All together, I suspect less then $10k and probably much better then anything up to $15k available on the market today. Retail price of SA-50 is only $5k

All The Best
Rafael