Price Paid:  $1000.00

Summary:
Bulletproof design after 10 years of use. I recently bought two new players, a Denon (1500W CDR) with their Analog Devices 24 bit DACS and a decent Sony DVD player with some 24/96 stuff.

Even brand new D/A technology in the new players sounds lame compared to this 10 year old DAC. Not even close. Far better dynamics, much more powerful and controlled bass. Far better clarity. This or one of the mid-90's Theta DACS are great pick-ups. At the time, this DAC sounded better than Theta though.

Strengths:
Bulltetproof. Same DAC set-up and digital filter as Mark Levinson No 36 for $7k.
About 90% of the Levinson for next to nothing. Was a bargain for $1,000 when new.

Weaknesses:
No digital output.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
The look is utilitarian. But the connections are first rate, as well as the built quality.
But, despite the advice of others and this great technology, it doesn't souds good at all. Too much medium, no extreme bass, fuzzy image, slightly harsh...
I compared it, in my main system, with :
- MSB Link II : better than GDA-700
- CAL Icon II : better than GDA-700
- Marantz CD-17-II : better than GDA-700
- Musical Fidelity A3CD : similar
- Marantz CD67SE : even worse than GDA-700

Strengths:
Connections, features, built quality

Weaknesses:
Sound dry, lack of low bass, fuzzy image

Similar Products Used:
MSB Link II, Muse Model 2+

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I am no longer a skeptic when it comes to hearing differences in digital audio equipment. Switching from an older Sony cd changer to a 20 bit Denon got me thinking and using the GDA-700 sealed my conviction. I purchased this dac becuase some of my favorite CDs (Joni Mitchell) are HDCD encoded and I wanted to hear what HDCD would do. I was not dissappointed. This unit sounds wonderful, especially with HDCD. It has improved the sound of my system in every respect. I have used it with several different cd players and have settled on an inexpensive single disc Sony with the optical output. The Sony has a quick and quiet transport that sounds awesome through the Adcom. Highly recommend the GDA-700 as a way to improve the sound from a budget cd player. I can't see giving this dac any less than five star rating.

Strengths:
Quality build (made in USA), quality parts. Plenty of inputs for future upgrades.

Weaknesses:
None.

Similar Products Used:
PS Audio, Bitwise.

Price Paid:  $330.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I am running the Adcom with a Sony CDP-CX450 Mega Changer and Oknyo TX-SV747 home theater receiver through Acoustic Research AR1 speakers. The ARs sounded pretty good before but produced very sluggish mids. The Adcom has brought out the midrange while delievering a more precise bass. The difference in sound is unbelievable; this DAC was a steal at just over $300.

Strengths:
Stronger, more defined mids. Bass hits much cleaner. HDCD decoding.

Weaknesses:
Not enough frequency samplings.

Price Paid:  $320.00

Summary:
I'm one of those cynical people who used to think a DAC is a DAC is a DAC until I hooked up the 700. My previous attempt at a DAC-the MSB Link II-left a lot to be desired because I couldn't really hear any improvement over the CDP's DAC. The Adcom is a different story alltogether. Vocals came to life and the highs got crispier. I also started noticing "sounds" I never new existed in my CDs. This DAC looks and feels like high-end audiophile gear. The balanced outputs are a huge plus for me and HDCD comes in handy. And at this price...fuggedaboutit!!!

Strengths:
Great features (XLR,HDCD,AES/EBU),big improvement over CDP's DAC

Weaknesses:
No upsampling but at a (far) below

Similar Products Used:
MSB Link II