Separate Transport & DAC: Why not?

The best digital setups that I have heard have all been separates, except for the Exemplar Denon 2900 which is an oustanding one box modded player. In general I don't buy the less is more argument in this case because it does not ring true with my experience. I'd say it has to do more with the overall design of the components than the simplicity of the path. Using a separate DAC and transport is more expensive and real estate intensive, but each component can be tailored more precisely to its needs.

That said, it's very nice to have a great one box player for the simplicity and I wish they all were!

For the past four years I've only used separate transports and DACs because I liked the flexibility of being able to change DACs and cables whenever I found something that I thought might work better.

Lately I've had my eye on the different modified one-box Denon and Sony universal players from APL, eXemplar and Modwright.

Bottom line, you'll get many different opinions, but there are many quality choices no matter which path you choose.

In addition to real estate and cost of a digital cable, there are also potential jitter problems. Some solve that with a dejitterer ;-) but now you've got 3 boxes and 2 digital cables. I know that I tried that route and eventually went back to a one-box.

The power supply and space to do it right are advantages of separate DAC. It can also be battery-powered. Tough to do this with a player. Also, a DAC is an easy transition to computer-driven audio, which can be superior to ANY player and actually more convenient.

i had a separate transport and dac the plus side it sounds better. the down side mor cables both power and rca digital coaxs .i had trouble with ground loops etc. but when i finally set it up right it sounded better. i used a marantz as a transport a dip umpsampler for anti jitter and a msb dac and power supply the setup with cables cost about 1400. anothe plus side is if any single component breaks it is cheaper to replace. right now i have a modified pioneer because i listen to cds, sacds, audio dvds and movies. but i rather have this pioneer and the transport and dac for cds only

I'm a believer in separates, tried CDPs and separates from the same brand and found that even though the DAC section is the same, there is a marked improvement in detail retrieval and resolution when going separate.

Now with the so reasonably priced Benchmark DAC1, I see no reason for anyone to go separate if you've got a half decent budget. Just get a half decent transport(DVDP), even one that outputs high resolution 24/96 in digital if possible, and you should get pretty good sound.

I use a separate dac and transport because it sounds better. My soundstage shrinks in depth and width and my speakers reappear with my standard redbook play on my Sony scd-1. I use a theta genVa for my redbook.

I auditioned the pass labs d1, while auditioning for my system. The disadvantage of the d1 as a preamp it will only allow you digital inputs. The pass labs d1 is great sounding and very musical. A very noticeable improvement over Wayne Colburn’s adcom reference cd player.

An old review of the pass labs D1
http://calab.kaist.ac.kr/~cgkim/audio/amp/zen/www.passlabs.com/d1_ua.htm

my system, Thiel 2.3’s, pass labs x-350, x-2, Sony SCD-1, theta gen va

Enjoy
dave

Are there any DAC's with a volume control?

As I consider separates, I see a big advantage in players such as the well regarded Resolution Audio or the Audio Aero Capitole. You get the player, DAC and preamp in one package. And you spend less on cables.

The Birdland Audio Odéon-Ag DAC has a built-in, remote controllable volume control.

The Benchmark has a vol pot. Its a great unit in a small package.