The simplest D/A convertors are just a bank of resistors, and this method works pretty well, actually. A parallel set of digital signals is sent from the buss at periodic intervals, the sampling rate. All lines from the most-significant bit down to the least-significant bit are tied to a common point through resistors and, voila! The result is an analog signal. This is then amplified, and from what you're telling me, this is done by a small signal triode in your player.What brand is your interface or kit? What I mean is, who provided it? Do you send off your existing CD player for modification? Or do they sell the interface outright? Do you buy the CD player with the summing tube already installed, as if it were made that way from the OEM?