Luceo non uro
pfm Member
Another vote for the Rega DAC here. Recently sold my (non-R) for £260, but served me well and makes everything sound rich and musical - the ‘Rega analogue sound’.
I’m sure the Toppings and SMSLs will be very competent.
I'd also recommend the Rega DAC. Or there is a Saturn-R in the classifieds right now for a very good price. That is a Rega DAC in bigger box with a transport and a few other tweaks so you get a one-box CD player with a full function DAC thrown in so you can run all of your other digital kit through it.
I've put my Rega Saturn-R and DAC up against a few supposedly better machines and it's still here. It's the most analogue sounding CD player I've heard but it is still rhythmic and infectious. All those badly produced CDs you have that you never listen to because they sound crap? The Saturn-R will play every one of them.
It doesn't sound as 'big' as a big Naim CD player but in terms of music enjoyment it's fantastic. I'd quite like to try an Isis one day but the problem is that the Saturn-R is so good I have no reason to.
I keep an eye out for a Valve Isis ... but very happy with my Saturn-R too.