After about 4 months with the DLIII in the system, I think can say definitively that it's the second most significant upgrade I've made to the system. The speakers are still the defining component.
The Cullen 3 DLIII is simply remarkable... it brings depth, air and warmth to my system that just wasn't there before. The whole soundstage exists in higher and wider physical space, which is exactly what I was looking for. The top end that sizzled with the Oppo now slides...like buttah. It also fixes the slightly anemic bass I was getting from the Oppo... it was always controlled and musical, but now it's got authority and impact without being overemphasized.
It's got two upsampling settings: 96 and 192. It's difficult to tell the difference between the two, but I seem to prefer 96 in general, but that could be because I tend to use it for my more well-recorded albums. 192 seems to help lesser recordings reach higher, expanding a compressed soundstage for instance, while 96 is unbelievable with 70s era analog recordings. I think the higher upsampling rate adds a bit of sparkle on the high end that some people might not like, but for some recordings it's actually really nice.
The DAC has brought the sound of system exactly where I want it, so now I can focus on converting to a computer-based music library, which will be a really tricky project, considering my super-limited space.
In sum, I heart my modded DLIII.
