If you, like me, are still into playing the little silver discs then you will need a transport to extract those bits.
The quality of that transport can be anything from a $30 CD player with a digital output to a many-thousand dollar high-performance transport like our own SACD player.
How to make the decision of which disc spinner?
Of course, the easy answer is to go for the gusto. Buy the best one you can afford. Only, that doesn't make much sense if you're planning on connecting its digital output to a medium performance DAC.
Overkill.
I would suggest a couple of things. First, consider the quality of the DAC you're connecting with. If you're fortunate enough to have a DirectStream MKII, then it would seem somewhat of a crime to wrangle those precious bits with a cheap CD transport.
What's the point?
On the other hand, we can suggest that if you have a ho hum DAC—great sound but not up to an MKII or StellarGold—then it might just be overkill in the opposite direction.
Spending money for racing tires on a Prius doesn't make a lot of sense.
It's always in your best interest to match performance levels so that 1+1=3.
