Alrighty. A 4 - 5 year old 8000DAC has appeared on the Oz Ebay site. I
believe it would be the "MkIII" designation as it would have been the
last model produced before the 8000DAX. The 8000DAC in question has a
"20-bit" DAC.

My current CD player is a Rotel 965 Bitstream player that apparently has
a lower than usual SNR for CD players due to the ultrasonic hash
produced by the Bitstream implementation (and apparently it is meant to
sound "airy").

I like the idea of a DAC as I can also connect my DVD player (a 2 year
old entry level Philips) and use it for other digital sources (digital
TV, DAB in Oz when it finally arrives, audio from a PC, etc) that do not
have "well implemented" analogue output stages.

I know that I shouldn't be spending money on electronics before
upgrading my speakers and listening conditions, but electronics are
easier to dispose of than speakers if I don't like them (and have a
higher WAF as well, I mean who ever complains about new electronics
components, it isn't like I'm putting a pair of ESL-63s in the lounge room)

And before anyone says "a 2 box solution will have higher jitter levels
than a 1 box player", I will say that the Audiolab DAC is known for its
jitter attenuation properties.

So, the questions are ...

- How much would a late model 8000DAC be worth (ie the most I should bid
on)?
- Would adding the Audiolab DAC bring an improvement to CD sound
playback (compared to my Rotel CD player)?


Thanks.