Will a DAC mellow Denon DCM 360

Hi Dark: For free, you can try mixing your DIY IC's and the Radio shack Gold's. Try different ones in-between the preamp/power and the source/preamp. This may eliminate some of the glare that you are experiencing. You can also try hanging a blanket or tablecloth on the wall behind your speakers or work some more with speaker placement. I usually level my speakers (using a level) and then work with small degrees of tilt to adjust the sound. This seems to have almost as much effect (on the mid and HF's) as raising or lowering the speakers. I also have a moderately priced system and know where you are coming from. If better recorded CD's sound good at least you have that much:-) I have added some things to my system that have helped reduce glare as well as improving other areas of the sound. These additions are Vibrapods under the CD Player for $24.00 (follow Craigs instructions at Vibrapod), an updated power cord for the CD player (Harmonic Tech. Pro 11 for $125.00 used), HT Truthlink IC also for $125.00 used (really helps with poorly engineered CD's and sounds great on the good ones) and also a Monster HTS power conditioner (discounted to $125.00 new on line (you may not require power conditioning, I live in a congested area and benefit from it). The Vibrapods and the PC were the biggest improvements in my system and I started out with the Pods, again just a $24.00 investment plus a scrap of MDF, or use Maple if you happen to have a spare cutting board around the house. I am now adding a better DAC to my CAL player but am glad that I started off with the inexpensive basic tweaks that are now out of the way. I have wanted to try the DIY cables, but am always confused by the on-line instructions. Good luck.

PS: Sorry for not addressing the DAC question itself, but since I am not familiar with the sound of the DAC in your player I cannot say yes or no. As mentioned above when you purchase at a good used price you can resell with out losing $$$ on most items. In addition to the Truthlink IC's that I mention above I also use Silver IC's from Homegrown Audio with good results, this is just to say that the little things that I have done really did put a dent in the glare that I was experiencing as I no longer have to tame it with IC's for "most" recordings.

Thanks all of you for the suggestions! Unfortunately, I just noticed that the Denon DCM 360 doesn't have any digital output, so (I think) the option of using a DAC is moot with this player. I'm going to try some of the "cheap" tweaks suggested first, while saving my pennies for a good (used) Rotel CDP or DAC and transport. I did a little mix-and-match between the RS & DIY connects and it did substantially sooth some of the grating highs, but unforntunately, once I knew they exist, you know, can't stand any. I don't care what any of the ranting fools say on Audioreview.com's name-calling forums, different cables and connects make a big difference. Also, the difference in sonic atrributes/quality between cd's is amazing since the "glare" or "hiss" is so much worse or non-existent on many recordings. I'm not likely to get rid of the DIY speaker cables because 1) I spent weeks meticulousy braiding twisted pair w/ twisted pair to get a total of 27 pair per Low freq's and 9 pair per highs for a bi-wire set. Too much time and blisters invested, also they are highly rated by many experts and only cost me $37 + time. 2) I find it easy to believe that the cheap Denon CD carousel is the weak(er) link. Besides, pride won't let me admit to the girlfriend that I made our living room into a wire braiding jungle for weeks, all for naught. Plus, they really do sound great!

Since i think that the DCM-360 has a permanent power cord, that kind of lets that out unless you feel like doing internal modifications. You might try starting off with filling a large zip lock type freezer bag with sand and mass loading the CD player. Some Vibrapods underneath it rated for the weight of the player AND the sandbag might also help. In terms of your interconnects and speaker cable, they are probably FAR superior to much of what is available on the market for WAY, WAY more money than what you spent. That is as long as you followed the directions properly. My REAL suggestion is to look into another CD player if you want to solve the problem. I have tried the DCM 360 and it fell WAY short of the NAD 515 in terms of warmth and musicality. It also felt a helluva lot "cheesier" in terms of build quality. Cycling times were also measurably slower with the Denon. If a changer is not a big deal, look for a Cal Delta / Sigma set-up. The Sigma / Sigma II will do MARVELS for your system in terms of musicality, warmth and soundstage. The later version of the Sigma II is 24/96 and is not as full sounding, but does offer a more open and detailed sound. Depending on what your seeking, you can play with the single tube in any of these DACS and fine tune the sound to your liking. I also have one question. How do you have your equipment set up ? Is it in an entertainment center, rack, on top of some type of cabinet, etc ??? Please be as specific as possible. Sean >

This is an interesting post--I do own a DCM360, and mine does not have a digital out--hence you cannot hookup an external DAC. I have found that monster interconnects (M550 or higher) do a nice job of warming up the sound and also improve the bass. I am using M1000i, which sound awesome!!! Of course, most people would consider it foolish to use a $200 cable on a $300 CDP. The only reason I do is that I have several systems, and so I took the M1000 out of a higher end system when I changed cables. Double check your back panel for a digital connection before you buy a DAC!