Brian, I experimented with the cheap transport concept when I reviewed the Benchmark DAC1 (and wrote my findings in that regard in the article). You are correct that it does a lot to "even the playing field" in terms of usage of inexpensive transports. However, there was still a noticeable difference in them when feeding the DAC1. The transport had a direct influence on the outcome, and without fail the higher quality transport, the better the result.
For someone on a shoestring budget the differences may not be worthwhile. The cheap cdp and reclocking DAC will certainly give decent sound. My thought is that if one goes that route it is very possible that the end result will not be significantly improved over Sonos to DAC.
At the price point it's more difficult to set up Redbook to easily best the Sonos/DAC combo. One cdp I wrote about which does outshine the Sonos is the Cambridge Audio Azur 840C. They are appearing now on the used ads here, so that might be an option. It would definitely be worth saving up for a player of that caliber, and it has a unique "flavor", a more expanded sound that would be different from the Sonos.
Another thought: I haven't done the homework (that's for Mizuno to do!) but if the same laser assembly is used in the lower end Azur cdp line then one of them might be excellent as a transport for use with the DAC.
For someone on a shoestring budget the differences may not be worthwhile. The cheap cdp and reclocking DAC will certainly give decent sound. My thought is that if one goes that route it is very possible that the end result will not be significantly improved over Sonos to DAC.
At the price point it's more difficult to set up Redbook to easily best the Sonos/DAC combo. One cdp I wrote about which does outshine the Sonos is the Cambridge Audio Azur 840C. They are appearing now on the used ads here, so that might be an option. It would definitely be worth saving up for a player of that caliber, and it has a unique "flavor", a more expanded sound that would be different from the Sonos.
Another thought: I haven't done the homework (that's for Mizuno to do!) but if the same laser assembly is used in the lower end Azur cdp line then one of them might be excellent as a transport for use with the DAC.