Used DAC or Used CD Player???

I have a 63se which I combined with a Monarchy 18B and the 24/96 DIP. A great result for WELL under half of your budget of $1500. I agree with seandtaylor99, the DIP made the biggest improvement. You may consider replacing the captive power cord on the 63se with an IEC connector. I did, and the results with power cables have been great. Got it done by a qualified tech for around $50 U.S.

The Levinson is a great peice and for the price it will be vey hard to beat the sound. I would also replace the cd63 with a levinson 37 transport down the line but the cd63 will do fine until you get the 37 good luck

I wouldn't keep the Marantz. I have the same 63se. At least in my experience, the Marantz proved to be an average transport. For $1500, you can get a great CD player or trans/dac at used prices. Or, check out tweakaudio.com. This Ric fellow is modifying dvda and sacd players.

Personally, I got the Alpha/Delta for about half your budget, and I am very happy.

I think my issue now is...I can get the monarchy 18B with the DIP for less than $500 total. Would this investment be worth it? Would this combo sound as good as the rega planet or jupiter or any other $1500 player??

I am trying to cheap out right now, and although i can spend $1500 in the future for something, I cannot spend that right now.

Should I wait to afford the new cd player for around $1500, or just spend the $500 now and suck it up for about 1.5 years till I can afford levinson separates?

The 18b and DIP will certainly be a MAJOR improvement over your CD63, particularly in imaging and definition. Since you have a preamp why get the Monarchy 18 (which includes preamp and volume) ? The model 22A and 22B is the same DAC (more or less) for about $100 less, without the preamp.

If you get a 22A/B/C plus a DIP and you buy both used the cost should be about $350-$400. This will be a great bang for the buck, and you'll lose no more than $100 on resale if you decide to go for a $1500+ player in the future.

BTW the guy I bought my 22A DAC from was using it with a Rega Planet as a transport and he said the 22A sounded better than the stock Rega planet.