What are the best CD-changers?

sctazmon: the answers to your questions, from my admittedly biased point of view, are: (1) yes; (2) no. -kelly

For using a changer as a transport for a DAC, the best bang for the buck is a $89 Aiwa at Best Buy. For a player the above recommendations are good at their price points, plus the Rotel with the same Burr Brown chip.

I totaly agree with sugarbrie's advice. I personally know six audiophiles (plus myself) that have systems that cost over $10k, which use the Awia transport/ MSB (modified) set-up. Its really that good!

Stan Warren will modify a multi-disc Pioneer DVD Player into a great stand alone changer/player for around $250 plus the cost of the DVD Player that you supply.

He also does a $160 modification to the Aiwa Changer/Transport that is well worth it.

I have finally gotten my $90 Aiwa changer modified by Stan Warren and to my amazement (and delight) it sounds great as a transport. I paid $130 plus $20 shipping for the mod, so for $240 I have a multi-disc changer that rivals the performance of my Parasound CBT-2000 transport which originally sold for around $1600. The mod includes a digital cable that is not a toslink but will only plug into a toslink input. I don't know how this works, but it does work fine and it sounds great. I think the only areas that the Aiwa gives up to a mega buck transport is a very slight loss of transparency and very deep bass response, but at these prices, who cares. Compared to the stock Aiwa, the modified one has fuller bass and a much smoother midrange. If you are going to get the mod, make sure to follow Stan's instructions for labeling your box.