[gwynthompson]

what disc player or transport would work best with this dac? As in decode sacd dvd-a and cd. I do no stream at this time and do not plan on streaming music.

[YungestMarco]

A used Ayre Acoustics C-5xe supports those 3 formats and goes for around $1000-$2000

[NIGHTFALL1970]

Unfortunately, I don’t think it will decode the SACD layer. The copy protection will kick in. I think it will only decode the “red book” layer.

[Mary]

We aren't really in a position to recommend specific players or transports for use with our equipment. However, we can provide you with what you need to make an informed choice.

Both our DAC MK 5 and the DVA "Digital Preamplifier" DAC can handle S/PDIF formats up to 192kHz (coax) or up to 96kHz (optical). So, any device that outputs standard S/PDIF should work fine.

That said, we've noticed that a number of Blu-ray and DVD players don't like "gapless" CDs (concept albums, etc): They will play back fine except for the insertion of a short pause between the gapless tracks. Also, the sparse physical UIs of many current Blu-ray and DVD players are not well suited for audio-only playback. So, the best bet for standard CD playback may be a transport or player designed specifically for CDs.

Neither the DAC MK 5 nor the DVA "Digital Preamplifier" DAC have an HDMI port, which as far as we know is the only legal way to support native SACD. Similar licensing caveats apply to DVD-A streams.