Stereo system using DVD player and DAC - help please

Not really, given your budget. You pay extra for more boxes, so design the system around the fewest boxes.

You need a preamp and amp, which could be combined into an integrated amp. But I would recommend buying DAC, preamp, and amp in a single box. That would be either an inexpensive 5.1 receiver or the Harman Kardon 3490 stereo receiver. This will be cheaper than just about any DAC/integrated amp pair you could find, and leave you plenty of money for speakers.

Spend the majority of your money on speakers, basically whatever you don't need for the receiver. Don't waste money on cables.

DVD-A is pretty much dead. SACDs can sound good, even with old material originally released in 2-channel. But $1000 isn't going to buy you much of a 5.1 system.

And if your preference is rock, SACD has always been dead. Very few selections, and most that were available are long out of production now.

No, I would not care to, actually! In terms of audible sound quality, there's no inherent advantage to separating these components out. Separates give you more flexibility, and allow you to use more powerful amps (which may or may not matter, depending on your speakers and how loud you like to play). And some people just like the idea of separates, which is fine.

So the answer isn't, you should go to separates if your budget is above $XXXX. The answer is, you should go to separates if you want to for some reason, and your budget allows. And your budget allows if it leaves you enough money for speakers you are really, really happy with, because they (plus your room) are the key determinants of sound quality.

Agreed, not a big selection in terms of rock, but this is what I've built up in the last year (so they're still available but mostly used, some SACD and some DVD-Audio). There are a few more I'd like to buy but I've got most of the ones I'll want.

Aerosmith Toys In The Attic
Alice In Chains Greatest Hits
The Allman Brothers Eat A Peach
The Allman Brothers Live At The Fillmore East
B.B. King Reflections
The Beach Boys Pet Sounds
Billy Joel The Stranger
Bob Dylan Blood On The Tracks
Bob Dylan Revisited
Boston Boston
Bruce Springsteen Live In New York City
David Bowie Ziggy Stardust
David Bowie Young Americans
Deep Purple Live On The BBC
Derek & The Dominoes Layla
Dire Straits Brothers In Arms
Don Henley The End Of The Innocence
The Doors Perception
The Eagles Hell Freezes Over
The Eagles Hotel California
Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Elton John Madman Across The Water
Eric Clapton 461 Ocean Boulevard
Eric Clapton Slowhand
Eric Johnson Av Via Musicom
Fleetwood Mac Rumors
Foo Fighters One By One
Frank Zappa Quadrophiliac
Genesis Abacab
Grateful Dead Terrapin Station
Grateful Dead Mars Hotel
Grateful Dead American Beauty
Grateful Dead Workingman's Dead
Heart Alive In Seattle
Jeff Beck Blow By Blow
Joe Satriani Strange Beautiful Music
Joe Satriani Engines Of Creation
John Coltrane Soultrain
Journey Escape
Led Zeppelin How The West Was Won
Metallica Black Album
Neil Young Harvest
Neil Young Live At The Fillmore East
Nine Inch Nails The Downward Spiral
Peter Gabriel Up
Peter Gabriel Security
Pink Floyd DSOTM
The Police Outlandos d'Amour
The Police Regatta de Blanc
The Police Zenyatta Mondatta
The Police Ghost
The Police Synchronicity
The Police Live
The Police Every Breath You Take
The Police Every Breath You Take
Porcupine Tree Fear Of A Blank Planet
Porcupine Tree Stupid Dream
Queen A Night At The Opera
Queensryche Empire
Queensryche Tribe
Roger Waters In The Flesh
Roger Waters The Wall
Roxy Music Avalon
Santana Supernatural
Santana Abraxas
Santana Jammin' Home
Steely Dan Gaucho
Steve Miller Band Fly Like An Eagle
Stevie Ray Vaughan Texas Flood
Stevie Ray Vaughan Couldn't Stand The Weather
Sting Brand New Day
Sting Nothing Like The Sun
Sting Ten Summoner's Tales
Sting Sacred Love
Stone Temple Pilots Core
Talking Heads All
Train Drops Of Jupiter
The Rolling Stones Big Hits & High Tides
The Rolling Stones More Hot Rocks
The Who Tommy
The Who Live At Royal Albert Hall
The Who My Generation

No. It may be that you choose particular speakers that this particular receiver cannot drive cleanly (although this is less likely than you might think). But that has nothing to do with price, or overall "quality."

I once asked a guy who writes about audio professionally what he would do with $5000. He suggested a $4000 5.1 system and a $300 receiver. He wasn't joking.

I've spent more than $300 on an integrated amp and not regretted it!

Generally in my opinion most sound better-some considerably better, some marginally better, and a few about the same. I've heard a few people say that recent remasters or Mobile Fidely remasters sound as good or better than a few of the SACDs or DVD-As I listed, but not all have been remastered. An even bigger difference is that a lot of the ones are multichannel and not just stereo, which can be add (or detract) to their appeal, depending on who you ask. Just like asking "what's the best speaker/amp/etc." it's VERY subjective and you'll get a variety of opinions. A lot of the improvement or lack of can be attributed to the mix/remix by the engineer.

In terms of how it's better I could take a stab at it and confuse you with terms like bit rates and sampling, but frankly I don't feel that I'm qualified to do so. I have a general understanding of it but I'd feel much better leaving it to an expert. I'm fairly new to hirez music and I'd love to hear a technical explanation myself. There are great "two-channel/audio theory/multichannel" subforums here on AVS--feel free to post this question there and I'll eagerly read the responses.

Just because a $300 receiver will work in your system doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to that. In my case, I already had speakers and was replacing an integrated amp that was, shall we say, past its prime. I thought about just getting a cheap receiver, but for a variety of (non-sonic) reasons decided I'd rather have a integrated that was somewhat more expensive.

If I were spending $4000 on speakers, I'd definitely spend more than $300 on a receiver, and I think my reviewer friend would, too. But I'd be spending more for features (esp. room correction) and power handling, not general sound quality.

That's almost certainly not how SACD is better. Higher resolution doesn't seem to matter to our feeble brains. What matters is 1) better mastering and 2) multichannel sound.

I wouldn't be so sure. Multichannel music has pretty much failed in the marketplace, except for a narrow audiophile niche. I would predict that the vast majority of music will continue to be 2-channel, and no better than Apple Lossless.

BTW, thought I'd answer the question you didn't ask: What system would I buy with $1000?

Digital source: Panasonic Blu-Ray player ($100)
Digital "source": Apple Airport Express ($100)
Receiver: Sherwood RX4105 ($85)
Speakers: Infinity Primus P363 ($500) or Paradigm Monitor 7 ($640)

Yeah, I thought so too. But even some of today's $300 AVRs can give you the illusion of "High Definition". Spend your money on GOOD speakers. Not only will they last a lifetime but there's just something about the sound that you can spend hours enjoying them.

Just FYI, but we have an additive sound system; depending on factors such as the rest of the family sleeping or in the room with me. The low end speakers are what came in the Flat Panel. I tapped the analog output of the Flat Panel with an older Crown D-75 and they push a pair of JBL- L820. Then we have a Yamaha 667 with JBL -lC2 center, 2 JBL -L890s, 2 8400 subs, pair of L36 as sorround and another set of L-820s behind the couch. This AVR is hooked to the BR and HTPC so we can use eithor system alone or in conjunction with the other two. Or turn everything off and use headphones. The sweet spot is anywhere on the couch.

If there is one thing I would change..the L36 with L100s