Hi all, have been reading with interest the ravings re TDA 1541 DAC chips in all their incarnations, but I take on board the caveat that they must be correctly implemented. If I were to get one not so well implemented, I would not really be able to modify it myself. I did like my old Cambridge Audio CD6 which had 2 TDA 1305 chips, but I went to a Beresford after that which was preferable.

So what would be a better choice (there are many) of older CDPs with a well designed and implemented 1541 that sounds alive, and which can be modified in years to come? I am thinking along the lines of re-cocking and a non - oversampling conversion.

Arcam Alpha 5 springs to mind, and I did like the one I heard (a while ago). I have my eye on a Marantz CD74 ii and a (preferable) Rotel RCD 955 AX, which also has a nice transport. Both of these are sub £40 ish, are supposed to sound good now, and have potential for the future.

Any Thoughts?