Buy a hi-end CD player/transport now?

Yes. After much trepidation, I can't imagine NOT having my EMC-1 MkII! Cheap? No, but it'll be a long-term friend.

Subaruguru, finaly had Jcbtubes put in the new mod. Have only listened to it for 10 or 12 hours. I have so much going on in my system, I don't no whats doing what. With all the new stuff I am breaking in, Can't tell what the improvements are. I can say this, It obliterated the Res Audio CD-50.
Sedond my ol' friend, I can't blame you a bit for your opinions on the Res-50 vs the Art di/o. I also agree.

Rlb61, I agree with much you have said. But HDCD doesn't alway's sound as good as one of my middle of the road CDs. Just because it says SACD, don't mean it is anything special.

Sedond, your opinions on digital shouldn't count, your a vinyl man. Sedond the vinyl man, I bet, has the best sound on this thread. Except for maybe a few other TT guys on this thread. If I owned Sedond's TT setup, I wouldn't put much $$$ into digital either. Sedond, do you ever get so angry with all the tweaking on the TT, that you just want to throw it in the gabage? The TT nearly sent me to the nut house. Always adjusting azmuth, VTA, wondering if my belt was too tight or too lose. Started adjusting VTA for every album. I really miss the old TT, but I think if I gave it another try, it would send me to a rubber room in a straight jacket. If I remember right, you have the Oracle. What arm, cartridge, phono amp, and what is it sitting on? I have a bunch of new Dylan albums I am dying to hear.

brulee,

thanks for the comments re: my analog set-up. dunno if it's as good as ya make it, but i do know that, barring any unforeseen lottery windfall or something, i'm set on the vinyl front! ;~) i'm not much of a tweeker w/it, tho - yust set it & forget it. so, no, i have never had any frustration w/tweeking it. the oracle suspension seems pretty constant - i check its level once in a while, but it's usually spot-on. for system specifics, i have it listed on the audio asylum if yure really interested (search doug s.)

re: digital, tho, i can honestly say that my modded di/o really *does* get me better sound than i ever thought i'd hear from my set-up. and, it's good enuff so that i could live w/it as a main source. no, it's not vinyl, but it's really close in ways where vinyl always has reigned supreme - the liquidity, soundstage depth, & lack of harshenss. it's also wery strong in areas that digital is expected to be strong - the dynamics, the detail, & the blackness between notes is superb. it's an absolute no-brainer for anyone looking to improve their digital playback w/o breaking the bank. and again, while i don't have the "mega-buck" rig experience, there *are* those who have ditched their multi-thousand-dollar digital rigs in favor of this little thing... (at ~5.5"x5.5"x1.5", the art di/o really *is* a little thing!)

doug s.