Absolutely. I think in effect I am comparing 2 transports using the same DAC. The old CDP internal DAC was by pass. Correct me if I am wrong. However, it is only after critical blind comparison I come to the conclusion the big improvement that I thought I heard before was actually the new transport has a higher voltage gain. Once the SPL differences of 5dB is reduce the differences reduce big time. Only then am I force to listen more critically what is it that has improved and if they are still worth the price gap.