Cd player vs transport and dac.

[Chunk McDaniel]

Looking for your thoughts on whether a dedicated transport and dac is a better option than my current cd player. I have a Naim cd5 and was set on adding an off board power supply probably Avondale. Since reading the dac thread and various online forum discussions I am now wondering if I would be better selling the Naim and adding the 3 to 4 hundred pounds power supply money and buying something like a Cambridge cxc and a Schitt multibit. Would this be better than the cd5 and then I obviously have the benifit of using the dac for other things like Spotify and maybe a music server. Any opinions would be most welcome.

[Fretless]

The CXC is superb value. My experience is that a CD transport & dedicated separate DAC sounds better than a standalone CD player and offers more flexibility.

[wallace47]

I used to have a Naim CD5 to which i added a secondhand recapped Hicap and was very pleased with the sound.Then i bought a squeezebox touch and couldn't hear much difference.I ended selling the Naim kit,for a good price i might add.I suggest you find an old hicap and get Mr Avondale to breath on it for you,not sure if he still does his upgrades now thou'.Good luck.

[savvypaul]

Or you could look at a server that has a built-in CD ripper. Then you can listen to your CDs, Spotify, digital download files through one interface (app on phone / tablet / pc).

I got mine from here, others do similar stuff: http://www.vortexbox.co.uk/Music_Server ... 36594.aspx

[OrangeFixie]

Hi, I tried a HiCap with my CD5x a few years ago and preferred the sound without it! Earlier this year I bought an Audiolab M DAC+ and tried it with a £40 DVD player. I preferred the combination to the CD5x, more detail, less coloured, better all 'round. I sold the Naim and bought a second hand Musical Fidelity M1 CDT. So, in my opinion, the two box option is better, plus I can listen to music from my computer.