Where's Digital playback at today ?

Hi Don you could very well be right , save your money and look at your Sony.
One evening I was reading some vintage absolute sound on digital, around the time the editor and writers started to embrace cd sound ,gag,and caugh... However it seem there were digital revolutions after revolution that came and went with no real meaningful leap in performance, just price, Shirley this can't still be true?

Amongst the big boy stuff you are likely to be able to actually audition (of stuff I have heard anyway), I would say the only thing you would probably go for is the Playback Designs MPD3 via DSD - but only via DSD.

I have heard two DAC's via PCM that surpass it, but they are made in minuscule quantities - one by a small maker - the Phasure DAC, and another a handmade DAC based on an enthusiasts heavily tweaked design and built to order called the Killer.

You can see my write up of both here:
http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=4874.0
http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=4783.0

Of those two however the Killer would be more suited to those of analogue tastes.

Trouble is unless you live in Australia you would have Buckley's of hearing one - which is a pity.

Thanks
Bill

Bill this is interesting, thank you.

The Esoteric K series have received good reviews from both magazines and users. The K-03 and K-05 can be purchased for under $8,000 used.

Another option is that Sony has just come out with a player, the HAP-Z1ES ($2,000), that plays DSD and PCM downloads. There are quite a few downloads available now and Sony promises to make a wide variety of DSD downloads available. Sony also says that the other two major music groups, Universal and Warner, are on board with the plan.

I'm waiting to see some reviews and more downloads before I do anything with this. Acoustic Sounds has a Super HiRez section on their website if you'd like to see whats available now. Sony just started shipping the players Dec. 30th.

IMO, most CDPs today have very good DACs and decent transports. In recent years, the importance and quality of the master clock in a CDP has evolved to a level in which CD can compete with an analogue rig. Controlling jitter is the major factor in a good digital setup.

Such CDPs at this level would be Wadia, Esoteric, ARC (Audio Research), Ayon, and the ModWright Sony. These are in the $5k to $12k range and have exceptional DACS, master clock, and isolation systems.
I own an ARC for Redbook, but unless you are committed to CD or SACD, most people are spending this kind of money on transport and DAC systems.