Will a new Dac improve the sound?

@garypick 

I just came out the other end of what you're asking. I used players as transports, the best was the Pioneer PD65, but it was quite old and the only output was toslink, a low resolution data transfer medium. When it died I replaced it with a Marantz HD CD-1 to use as a transport, but, have as a back up player. It too died. Ultimately a CD players transport will not live up to even a relatively inexpensive Audiolab CDT 6000, which I bought and am shocked at how good it is even though the MSRP is "ONLY" $600 (Audio Advisor). There's a GREAT written review on line where he used very inexpensive dacs and worked his way up to ~ $2500 dacs. Each upgrade was readily heard, SO, you could get it, and start with a dac you can afford and work your way up

HTH

i guess i'm wondering what would be a good fit to bring out the best sound possible with a digital source.

Holy crap!  You’ve now been asked twice what would represent “improvements” to you.  Better soundstage, more detail, etc.  What are u looking for???  Without this info this post is near useless and will just give u individual opinions that may or may not coincide with yours.  If you can’t elucidate what specifically you’re looking to improve, this post is near useless. 

gary

1.  what speakers are you using?

2.  when you think about improvements in sound as played by your system, what are the first few elements that come to mind?   (i wish i had deeper, more well defined bass... or a lot of the time many cd's sound harsh and gritty... i feel like all the voices and instruments are on top of each other, in one big mish-mash... and so on...)

jjss49 ... I'm looking to have the cd's sound less harsh and piercing. Maybe a little more warmth. The soundstage is fine. Bass is lacking , but that needs to be fixed with some subs( next hurdle).Speakers are electrostatic.

iirc gary your cary cd-1 player is solid state output stage with ad pcm1792 chipset, very common in cdp’s in that time frame, it was known to be a little brash and thin sounding feeding a typical ss output stage, not surprised with your setup with electrostats the digital sizzle will play through

if you want to stick to your cdp for now, just use its digital out, i would suggest (in order of preference) an mhdt r2r tube buffered dac (orchid havana or atlantis), lesser choices being a musical paradise tube unit, or a border patrol dac - all in your stated price range... with these the sound will have more body and richness, less sibilance/harshness, sound more analog if you will

these dacs come up used but re-sell quickly (as many are looking for a similar solution to typical modest budget digital playback ills) or you can just buy new, still within your budget....

with pure electrostat speakers, yes you'll likely need a separate solution for better bass impact, chances are that aspect won’t be solved with a dac

also, the streaming option pointed out by another poster earlier is also worth serious consideration if you are willing to head in that direction... i would!

good luck