mdrew,
Stop worrying about whether there are "sound quality differences" in D/A converters. There aren't. Nada. DACs and ADCs from any of the competent manufacturers are indistinguishable. The ones used in the Sony mega-changers (I have the CX-355) are utterly transparent. I've compared D/A converters costing between $20,000 and $100, and when you run duplicate CDs, synced to each other and at identical playback volume, and switch between the two units, there are no audible differences with music programming.
I agree with Capn Pickard on the annoyance of extracting CDs from mega-changers to use in the car. I hardly bother or I keep a stack of recent favorites just for the car changer.
However, because of my eclectic tastes in music, I love the surprise factor when you play in random mode. Yesterday, my CX-355 went from a Ray Charles track to Louis Lortie playing Ravel, to a symphony by Jongen for organ and orchestra to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, then to Thelonius Monk, and finally, Renee Fleming doing an aria from the opera based on "Streetcar Named Desire."
If the shift in musical genres is too jarring, I just hit the "next disc" or next track button on the remote and it cues up a new random selection.
Regards,
