jpy

I sincerely appreciate all the feedback. I've learned some new things, especially the second hand market. Didn't even consider it before. I'm still open to additional comments (while I continue my research...on the second hand market!)

Please bear with me as I am a newb to DACs. Tons of research on DACs, and I have it narrowed down to the Arcam rDAC and Musical Fidelity V-DAC for my digital library. Most reports state that the Arcam is smooth, while the V-DAC has punch. I listen to mostly rock music and some jazz- no classical. Setup- *Hafler XL280 amp *Adcom GFP555II pre- RCA only *Infinity speakers *Desktop WinXP, laptop Win 7: I'll use the less noisy box; USB connect only *iTunes- sorry, 44,000+ tracks is a lot of time to convert to FLAC *Digital format- Apple Lossless *$500 max to spend to get my toes wet Upon first listen with the PC and a Creative Soundblaster card plugged in to the Adcom, the PC sounded colder and harsh. Not too bad for my tastes considering I used a cheapo RCA stereo to mini, but I want to tone it down a bit. Given my musical preferences and setup, would I notice an improved difference with either choice? It's difficult for me to decide because buying both to compare is not an option, and I don't want to smooth out the rock music too much. I still want it to have some punch. Any ideas?