 Jay,
Joe asked me to respond as he claimed he is no expert in DAC. To be very frank with no element of being arrogant, I've only owned a Wadia DAC and now this dCS. Joe has made a big mistake when he referred you to me on this topic. Anyway, I'll try my best. Before, or should I say 'rather', I make any recommendation, I would urge you to think about the following first: 1. Adding one DAC or even an upsampler would mean one or more digital cables and powercords. Powercord makes a HUGE difference. This means extra spendings. No doubt you could afford them, but just for your consideration. Joe would be more than happy to recommend his AU24 for digital cable...more business! 2. Have you considered to upgrade the clock to Big Ben by Doctor Jon Wong? This maybe a very effective upgrade then adding an outboard DAC. I haven't tried it myself but there're a lot of positive feedbacks flooding in the hifi circle. Cavaet: warranty void after modification. 3. In fact most DACs in the market employ more or less a few off-the-shelf chips. I think the difference mostly lies with the power supply and the analogue stage and some tweaking including vibration control, chasis. Digital technology is making leaps everyday. An old model DAC may not be significantly superior to the lattest model CD player with build-in DAC. I was told the lattest SACD player excels most older days transport+DAC? If you still prefer to go ahead with a DAC, consider these: 1. Get a DAC from a manufacturer who's more focused in this field. Though this is my own philosophy but the chance of going wrong is much reduced. Unless the manufacturer has ample of resources like Madrigal (ie Mark Levinson), otherwise it's rather inevitable that the spreading of scarce resource among many different products would mean that the manufacturer ended up with many products, but mostly of so and so performances. 2. Another beauty for a manufacturer dedicated in digitals is the upgrade potential. They rely on a narrow product line to survive and thus they have to make better livings by providing regular upgrade meaning more future proof gear. This is more important for digital gears. Remember some big names in late 80's who were giant in digital products? Now have you heard anything about them in the digital field anymore? Without upgrade, these products will soon be a museum item. But then no doubt dedicated manufacturer like Barclay also folded. Who knows? 3. As far as I know, and correct me if I'm wrong, currently only dCS DAC has 24/192 function. All other outboard DAC in the market support only up to 24/96. I also heard that dCS have been playing parts in both the SACD, DVDA and digital engineering camps. Most manufacturers say their products are upgradable to 24/192 but we have no idea how much it is going to cost. Remember, 24/192 is dual 24/96 that necessitate 2 digital cables and a major surgery to the main board and input/output ports. The conclusion is, therefore, either invest in a rather renowned but relatively expensive DAC like Wadia, Mark or dCS for future upgradability, or get something which is newer and value for money. I know Oyster is quite a satisfied owner of a MSB which is 24/96 ready. His system sounds really good. Perpectual Technology also has a 24/96 DAC and an outboard upsampler converting 16/44.1 to 24/96. I understand from some hifi forums that Dodson also has a very good DAC with 24/96 features but dont' know who's the dealer. Maybe you could do more research via the following forums: www.audioasylum.com and www.audiogon.com You might find them helpful. Lastly, sorry with the lengthy write-up which I know doesn't help a lot without coming up with anything firm. I'm not playing humble, I'm really not experienced enough to give solid comments/recommendations. Good luck and happy listening. | 
