Upsampling DACs

The Vitus RD-100 is an excellent upsampling dac and employs filter-down technology from the previous Signature series spinner (SCD-010). It also includes a good analogue linestage which uses a new version of Vitus's relay-based volume control and 2 'true' analogue inputs (1 rca + 1 xlr), including an array of digital inputs.

The RD-100 benefits from extremely wide bandwidth, future-proof discrete modular architecture and impeccable build quality. The sound is neutral, natural, flowing and sounds somewhat tube-like in terms of its tonal saturation, texture and dimensionality. An easy recommendation, unless you need a good sacd player, in which case i'd recommend the Vitus RCD-101. The dac section is in that player is on par with the RD-100, but omits the analogue linestage.

Dave, the Vitus RD-100 is $14kUSD retail, whilst the RCD-101 is about $2kUS more. A good Dealer however should be able to do a deal south of that. Not cheap, but I still rate these components as high end bargains imho.

Good point Chayro, at the end of the day members here can only make suggestions based on what we think is a good unpsampling dac based on our preference and relative budget. At the end of the day, it's all about finding out what kind of sound you like, then building a system that suits your tastes. I mean, if you believe some of the bs on this forum, you'd end up with $40k of cables plugged in to a Chinese cd player and $700 vintage speakers. Best to forge out on your own. Ultimately listening to gear and having a good relationship with a Dealer is the best way to go.

Dave, I can't comment on the sound of the Teac dac you mentioned, but to be honest, Teac are not in the same league as Vitus. Not saying Vitus is the only brand you should consider, and others I am sure will chime in. But from my experience they are doing it better than anyone else if bang for the buck & musicality matter.

Hand on heart if you're looking to buy new, I would recommend reading up on the Vitus RCD-101 if you want to improve the digital side of your system. The RCD-101 is a true balanced sacd player which has had an extensive rework to add SACD and DSD compared to the previous model, including a new heavily modified Sony SACD drive, a better power supply and better dac section which uses the same modular architecture as the Signature Series SCD-010! According to Lotushifi, the RCD-101 sounds better than the SCD-010 (which i've heard & sounds amazing). VA gear is hand-made in Denmark using some of the most sophisticated engineering i've ever seen.

Waxing lyrical perhaps, but i'm just a happy end user and have no ties/connections to VA. Good luck with your auditions!

Obviously it depends entirely on your budget. Below the price point of Vitus, the Aesthetix Romulus Signature is a very good value player imho, as is the Modwright Sony XA-5400ES at its price point. Happy auditioning!

I know that Ayon cd players offer the option of switching off upsampling which some purists prefer. I've seen 2nd hand examples show up on the 'Gon as low as $2750 (not sure if that's beyond your budget). The CD-2 is also ripe for upgrades if you want to improve the sound later on (ie: caps, tubes, op amps).

Dave, another nice sounding player on a budget would be a 2nd hand Modwright Sony XA-5400ES. A good example sold back in July on the 'Gon for $1990 - http://app.audiogon.com/listings/cd-sacd-players-modwright-sony-scd-xa5400es-sacd-cd-player-2014-06-24-digital-hong-kong

That player will give you a big tube sound & you gain SACD. Dan's Truth Mod improves the Dac section and lifts the player up to a whole new level. A giant killer for sure.