A good cd transport for my Chord HugoTT2 DAC with Chord M-Scaler


I recently acquired a Luxman L-595A integrated amp and moved my trusty L-509u to my second system along with my Simaudio Moon 260d cd transport.  I need a new cd transport (or player used as a transport) to go with my Chord Hugo TT2 DAC and Chord M-Scaler.

I was considering the PS Audio SACD transport, but most of my CDs are Red Book  and I own a very small number of SACDs.  

I love the build quality of Luxman products.  Would it be crazy to use a Luxman D-03x CDP as a transport?  It is about 2/3 of the price of the PS Audio SACD transport.

toronto416

I would say based on my testing, the Jay’s is the best I have heard. I have had the Ayon here which is also quite good.  I have had the Luxman here and believe it is far better as a transport.  The DAC in it was underwhelming for the price IMO but ai suppose my opinion is worth what you paid for it.  
 

the new Bricasti M19 is supposed to be insanely good but ai have not heard it yet.  At some point I will get one of those as a permanent device for my system.  
 

With SACD, I am not 100% certain you can get a DSD signal into chord due to copy protection. I think there needs to be a handshake between.

The other really good transports I am familiar with are hybrid streamer/server/CD like the Playback MPT-8 or the Rockna Wavedream NET.  They are excellent transports but wasteful if you dome’s need the streamer.  
 

full disclosure, I am a dealer who takes trades which is why I have heard so many of these.  I am a dealer for Bricasti, Playback and Rockna.  I have no relationship with Luxman, PS Audio, Ayon or Jay’s other than having taken product from them on trade. 

I have a Luxman-D06 cd player that I bought new in 2010 (when I also purchased a L-509u + Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation speakers).  After 6 or 7 years I used the D-06 as a transport, but as it has only a TOSLINK digital out I eventually replaced it with a Moon 260d transport which has a coaxial out. 

So just for fun this morning I put the D-06 in my second system which now consists of the L-509u integrated amp, Joseph Audio Pulsar speakers, and a PS Audio PP12 power regenerator.  To my surprise the D-06 sounded not bad at all!  In fact with one of the few SACDs that I own - Angella Hewitt playing the Chopin Nocturnes - the music sounded sublime.  Another factor may be some high frequency hearing loss in my almost 65 year old ears, but that is another story...

I will have to revisit using the D-06 as a transport using the optical out into my Chord dac.  My second system can benefit from upgrades to my main system as I consider a new digital source, but there is clearly some life left in the D-06.

Luxman was onto something in 2010, and I can only imagine how more than a decade later the D-07x and D-10x sound. 

I am very happy with the Verity Audio PO speakers and am greatly enjoying the L-595ASE amp in my main system.  But there is still one box missing on my main rack...

Depending on your price range, You can get an Audiolab 6000CDT that actually sounds good going into a good DAC. They also have a 9000CDT, for more money.  If your budget allows, check out PS Audio or Jays.  Jays is probably the best I’ve ever heard.

All the best.

I am seriously considering the Luxman D-10x to pair with my L-595ASE integrated amp driving my Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation speakers. 

Another excellent choice for playing Redbook CDs would be a Naim CDi.  I still have my late Dad's and it's a great sounding CD player which can be had for around a  $1000US in nice condition. Naim no longer repairs them but I believe that there are aftermarket companies that do. Best of luck with your search for a CD player. 👍