A word of advice, if you're interested.
I'm sure a lot of guys are interested in trying a dedicated dac via a connection to their cdp. I can't speak for others' experiences, and I don't want to discourage anyone, but the quality of the cdp will make a significant difference on the performance of any dac.
My personal experience:
Earlier on in my audiophile life, I owned a very well built Rotel cdp. It was good, but there was room for improvement. I tried to upgrade the sound using the digital output of the cdp with a dedicated dac. I couldn't hear any difference. So I thought the problem was the dac, so I asked the dealer if I could try his top of the line dac, a Lamda of some sort that sold for around $6k in '96. I still didn't hear any difference. I was becoming skeptical.
My dealer suggested that the reason for not hearing any difference was my cdp, not the dac. So we experimented at the dealership with a dedicated transport (and higher priced) using both dacs that I auditioned. With the dedicated transport, the difference in dacs was readily apparent.
Recently I owned a Classe cdp, which listed for around $2k. It sounded good on it's own, but even better when I used it as a transport feeding my Modwright P-3A. When I replaced the cdp with a Classe transport, the level of improvement was definitely worthwhile.
The moral of the story is that dacs can make a difference, but only if the source component is up to the task. The better the source component, the bigger difference it will make. For me, I know that a dedicated transport definitely makes a difference.
Then you must also add to the mix the effects of the digital cable. In my case my digital cable would be about the same price as the DAC-72.
Then there's the issue of a quality power cord, which probably makes the biggest difference with digital components. I've got mine plugged into power cord filter, which itself is plugged into it's own isolation transformer.
Combined, I think all these things help to hear differences in the quality of any component in the digital chain.
In the world of high-end audio, I still think that digital playback is the weakest link. I've been pleased with the progress that has been made recently in the quality of dac's, and it's exciting to learn if the next creation will elevate our listening experience even further.
