To DDC or not to DDC. That is the question.

Ok you guys have hit on my issue which is upgraditis in my digital streaming front end. I appreciate all the input! Lots to think about and weigh... Oh and thank you for reminding me about my CDs that have pretty much languished for years. I should haul them out and see what they sound like through my Sony SCD XA5400ES with the Merason as DAC.

I am actually looking into the DAC2 upgrade, or possibly Merason's new Mountain DAC that I would use to replace both the DAC 1 MkII and the Helene. 

@mitch2, if you do try out either the DAC2 or the Mountain, I hope you will find the time to write up your impressions on here; be fascinating to see if the Mountain in particular can surpass the Helene.

@maprik get a few of your favorite CDs and try the sony as a stand alone player and as a transport with your DAC. Let us know. 

@audphile1 I will try this tonight and report back. 

@audphile1 That was an interesting and very worthwhile investigation. I have the Merason DAC1 and the SCD-XA5400ES CDP in neighboring inputs so it was very easy to switch back and forth between them while listening to tracks. The first thing to note is that the CDP is louder than the Merason. I had to turn up the Merason channel about 3db (preamp has .5db clicks) to equalize the volumes. Overall the Merason is much more refined and accurate. Way more detail and realism. I also noted more clearly defined and separated instruments in the soundstage. But what the Sony offers is ENERGY. It’s more brash, upfront and in your face. So for rock, bluegrass, electronica I’m going to go with the Sony directly. For Jazz, acoustic stuff, piano, classical, vocally rich recordings I’m going with the Merason. Diana Krall is Merason. The Clash is Sony. I love that I can just switch inputs and change the flavor!!! Thanks for the suggestion, I learned something new about my system tonight!