[Marbles]

I like the idea of using the PC as transport, but unfortunately don't have one in my theater.  Maybe some day.

The Ah! player sounds promising.  I think I'll read up.

Thanks, Bob

Bob, it's wireless..you don't need the computer in your theater..just the SB2 receiver.

[bunky]

I know some like the Ah! player, but I prefer the Jolida JD-100 I own that has a few tweaks (JHS Gold Label Sylvania 5751WA triple mica black plates, Chris VenHaus cryoed Flavor 1 PC, Herbie's Hal-O 9 tube dampers, all resting on a 22 lb. granite slab supported by Vibrapods. Also has a 12 lb. piece of marble on the top resting on coasters. Tube pins et al treated with Walker SST).

I'm a little leary of saying what's "best", since seemingly works well in one system, to one's ears, may not sound right to someone else...

Hey djbnh, i know that the Jolida is also a very good cdp. i believe that response Audio has two or three levels of modded jolidas that are pretty cool too. i am interested in the pc based digital setup that Marbles mentioned with the SB 2 wireless link. it sounds like that is the direction that digital is going in and if it is state of the art for cheap why not explore it further. thanks....WCW III

[Pirate]

No doubt  I would have to seriously consider an Odyssey CDP if one was made available. With the addition of Odyssey cables, interconnects, amp, pre amp and speakers I have not been disapointed.

I have the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CDP with the upsampler. With the ability to roll tubes through it you can play and tweak the sound to your liking and it's very easy to do.  The upsampler really made a differance opening up the midrange.  There are other upgrades you can do yourself for minimal costs.  I am waiting to see if and what  the AH! people come up with next .  

As I added each piece Odyssey equipment upgrading my system  the AH! Njoe Tjoeb 4000 CDP came right along improving as my system improved.

[elnero]

I had the TubeDAC in my system last weekend.  It's a nice unit.  I found it to be a touch tipped-up in the treble, which might be just the ticket in some systems.  The owner of the unit said he thought the extra sparkle was an intentional design choice.

In my system, I prefer Red Wine's Monica.  It is more balanced to my ears, though some might find it to be rolled off in the treble.

I do think either unit would be an affordable, effective upgrade for most CDP's

I also have use of an Ack! dAck 2.0 for the next couple weeks.  I'll post findings when I have something to report.

I have an MHDT Laboratories Dialogue II non-oversampling DAC that I am liking more every time I listen. At the moment I'm only using a Philips DVP642 as a transport but I'm hoping to find a better DivX capable DVD player with a decent transport soon.  Unfortunately space is limited so using a dedicated transport for CD's is kind of out of the question at this point. I bought the Dialogue II more on a whim than anything and it's really captivated me, easily one of the best $225 I've spent in audio.

I too ended up selling my MiniMax CD player in favor of the non-oversampling DAC. My system is heaphone based so moving from the MiniMax to the Dialogue II allowed me to add on a Headamp GS-1 heaphone amplifier/pre-amplifier for an overall system upgrade without costing much in the difference. I love the MiniMax and still think it offers great value but there's just something about the non-oversampling sound I can't resist.

I'm very much interested in trying more non-oversampling DAC's of the cheaper variety at some point as well. I know of the DAC-AH, Moodlab, Monica2 Kit, etc. I've been especially interested in the Monica2 but am not so confident in my DIY skills. I was not aware of the Red Wine option until I saw you mention it and I did a search. It looks very nice except I'm not sure about the battery powering, do you happen to know of anyone else that offers completed Monica2's?