Thanks for the help. However, I decided to go in a completely different direction. I wasn't altogether happy with the CBII, so I sold it and picked up a dCS Delius dac/preamp & a dCS Purcell upsampler. What a significant difference. By the time I'm ready to do home theater, technology, I'm sure, would've changed several times over. So for now, I'm in two channel heaven. Currently looking to audition a pair of Halcro DM58 monos with the watt/puppy 8s.
My name is Ray & I just purchased a CBII, I think. I love the idea of the open architecture that makes this unit future proof. I do endeavor to get the upgrades when my recreational funds permit. In the mean time, I hope the enjoy the CBII for many moons. Right now I have an Audio ReQuest media server on order, which'll allow me to download and store over 300 CDs & 200 DVDs with a terabytes worth of memory. I have Wilson WP8s (recently acquired) driven by PBN Denali mono amps (900W @ 4 ohms). Until my server comes in, I'm running an old CD changer using toslink cable into the CBII. You mentioned in a thread that one can bypass the DACs by choosing Analog Direct. Is that an option for me if I'm using a digital in? Stereo mode is great, but would certainly like to hear what it sounds like via Analog Direct. Also, is there a way to determine if I actually have a CBII as opposed to a CBI or a CBIII? And BTW - thanks for being the in-house CB expert.