Boulder and CD Players

[2-Channel]

I was pouring through the Boulder website. Their 1021 CD transport or CD player has garnered very impressive reviews. From conversations with dealers and a Boulder rep, it appears that most owners use their 1021 as a CD player feeding their preamplifier directly. In fact, the 1021 has derailed the 2020 DAC so significantly that Boulder discontinued the DAC altogether claiming that the newer 1021 surpassed its performance results. The last 2020 has been sold thus ending its availability as a new purchase.

With CD transports usually being highlighted in high end systems, I was curious how many of you feel about a CD player vs a CD transport in a high end system.

I believe Krell had/has high end CD players in their CAST design.

Is the CD player still viewed as a legitimate high end component [in certain instances like Boulder], or do most audiophiles prefer the separation of the transport and the DAC?