Pretty new to all this. I have a Cayin tube amp (50T) and Dali Ikon 6 loudspeakers. My source input is some vinyl but mostly music streamed from iTunes over an Airport Express (encoded as Apple Lossless).

At a friends house (he uses an Airport Express as well) we tested his CD player against Lossless over the Airport Express (same CD) - big difference in quality in favor of the CD player.

I am assuming this is due to the cheap DAC in the Airport Express. Is this a correct assumption?

I was thinking of picking up a CD player that also has an optical-in so that the Airport Express can use this as a DAC. Should I do this or buy a stand-alone DAC?

Lastly, in a 2 speaker system, does it make any sense to invest in SACD / DVD Audio / etc?

Thanks!

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