DAC advice needed

[riverrat]

After making do with a one-size-fits-all AV system for many years, I managed to obtain official permission from the Chief to have a dedicated 2-channel system in our "great" room, with the TV/DVD stuff upstairs in the "media" room.

I've put together a relatively modest, but to my ears good sounding system, some old some new:

Sansui AU-D11 Mk II amp (c. 1984 refurbed and sounding great)

Sony SCD222 ES CD/SACD player/changer (c. 2002)

Sansui TU-719 tuner (c. 1978)

Onkyo T-9 Tuner (c. 1976)

Totem Sttaf speakers (good WAF w/the Chief, significanly less b*tching about speakers in the living room since these replaced my ancient Speakerlab S-3s.)

Radio Shack speaker cables (haven't really bought into the "audiophile" cable thing)

THESE MCM interconnects

I have about $1800 into this system, about $1100 was for the speakers.

For awhile I was looking into a mid-fi single CD player (e.g. used Rega Planet or similar) as an upgrade and complement to the Sony.

But now I'm thinking that a stand-alone DAC might give the best bang for the buck. I've never had a stand-alone DAC, just starting to learn about them. From what I understand, CD transport technology is not progressing nearly as fast as DAC technology, so it makes sense to separate these functions.

With a much more revealing amp and speakers, I'm looking to clean up the digital CD playback of the Sony.

Currently looking at THIS DAC.

My questions:

1. Are there any other relatively inexpensive (i.e. <$300) DACs I should consider?

2. Am I on the right track- i.e. is a DAC likely to provide the most bang for the buck in improved sound?

Thanks in advance to all you audio pros for any advice you can provide!

Edited August 22, 2006 by riverrat

[jazzbo]

I say consider this: not a DAC but a buffer that makes your existing cd player sound so much better. . . I really enjoy mine a lot!

http://www.decware.com/newsite/zbox.htm

[.:.impossible]

That thing looks sweet. If only I had $400 to spare.

[jazzbo]

Yes, it's a very useful little box. I use it as a preamp, and it does improve my digital playback considerably (and I was happy with the sound before from the Decware modified Sony SACD player I was using!)

Took a while to break in and took some playing around with tubes but the time and effort pays off.

[jazzhound]

ps audio has a new DAC for a grand. should sound nice and clean. No tubes necessary.

[Deuterium]

I use a Lavry as my DAC. It is around $1K, and I like it quite a lot. I have modified one of my sets of cans to allow me to use the balanced outputs of the Lavry which has led to a great improvement in the sound.