I have to say that the VDA 2 was the icing on the cake to my recent system upgrade. What started out as a speaker upgrade ended up being a complete system upgrade, the VDA 2 being the last addition. After acquiring a new amp and preamp it was clear that my CD player was now the weak link. Unfortunately my budget was 1k max on a new source component so I started looking at DACs rather than a new player. I have had several Audio Alchemy dacs and a CAL Alpha dac in the past so I knew my money would be better spent on a dac than a new player, besides my current player a Sony DVP 9000ES SACD/DVD isn't that bad and would do well as a transport. After doing some research I was ready to pull the trigger on a PS Audio DAC III however I had learned that they had just changed production from Boulder CO to China, no thanks. I'm sorry but I just couldn't do it, $1000 for something that now costs PS about 1/4 to manufacture in China. Then I read about CIAudio and the VDA 2. Everything I read on the VDA 2 was positive so I figured why not try one. I'm glad I did, it's the greatest bang for the buck audio purchase I've ever made. The VDA 2 is right at home in a system where each component cost 3 to 4 times as much. I can't remember owning a single component that has made me forget about components and just enjoy music like the VDA 2 has.
