I've now owned 4 different digital front-ends that had built-in volume control, and I liked all of them very much. I really like the idea of a single pair of interconnects and reducing cost by not buying a pre-amp.
Here are the units I've owned. They are in the order of my preference.
Birdland Odeon Lite DAC (needs a CD or DVD transport for use)
Theta Miles (balanced version)
Cary CD-308 (will be selling soon as I upgraded)
Resolution Audio Opus 21
All sounded really good, but each successive rig was a little better. The RA Opus 21 is a killer unit! The Cary is really good for the price and has some other special features.
BTW, having one remote to control the usual CD player functions AND volume, is a major plus.
Enjoy,
TIC
Here are the units I've owned. They are in the order of my preference.
Birdland Odeon Lite DAC (needs a CD or DVD transport for use)
Theta Miles (balanced version)
Cary CD-308 (will be selling soon as I upgraded)
Resolution Audio Opus 21
All sounded really good, but each successive rig was a little better. The RA Opus 21 is a killer unit! The Cary is really good for the price and has some other special features.
BTW, having one remote to control the usual CD player functions AND volume, is a major plus.
Enjoy,
TIC