DAC QUESTION FOR DUMMY


I posted in another tread asking advice on a new CD player.It will be used only for playing my 500 or so redbook cd;s and some dvd-audio and sacd.
I use a older Denon 1600 which sounds great.Quite warm and has good sonics
I know zero about Dacs
Will a Dac like the New Cambridge Dac magic make my CDs sound better though the different filters it has.My Denon has optical out.It this the connection to use.
Or would just getting the new OPPO 95 be better
Audio Advisor has 30 days to try out.Thanks
bobo7
With the DAC you will not be able to play your SACD,DVD Audio,unless you
unhook it and run your Denon without the DAC.Im assuming the Denon is a
universal player.If the Oppo is a universal you will be able to play them without
changing the hookups.
In general, optical digital interfaces sound worse than other types (S/PDIF, AES/EBU, BNC), so I would not sink money into an outboard DAC to improve the sound of your CD player. Even if you had a S/PDIF digital output, I still doubt you would get improved sound from an outboard DAC. Really, the reasons to pay up for an outboard DAC are if you have more than one digital source, if you are using a computer as your source, or if you are willing to spend a lot of money for a really high end DAC and transport. I would definitely give the Oppo a try, especially since you can give it a 30-day trial. You might also want to consider Rega, as their CD players are quite good as well.
As between those two choices, I'm confident the Oppo 95 will sound better than the DacMagic. In fact, IMHO, my Oppo 93 even sounds better than the Dac Magic+ I auditioned. I'm sure you will be happy with the Oppo, but based on reviews, you might consider the Schiit Bifrost, which people rave about and is considerably cheaper, or the Schit Gundnir, which is a step up and supposed to be released next month. Of course, there are tons of good options for DACs these days.