CD transports; do they really matter

Yes I've already run my CD player via my Bricasti DAC.  Sounds better but not that much impact which leads me to wonder if the issue is the transport in the Luxman ( or my digital cord).

BTW; has anyone tried the Bel Canto CD transport. Looks reasonably priced but few reviews on it.

Audiolab 6000CDT has a buffer which helps considerably MSRP ~ $700

Sounds better but not that much impact which leads me to wonder if the issue is the transport in the Luxman ( or my digital cord).

Issues with CDP are usually always mechanical, not electrical. Like, due to any number of reasons they fail which may manifest in skipping, getting stuck etc which you may find sometimes happens "normally" with a defective or dirty CD.

Yeah, so look elsewhere as you suggest like some robust cabling. I understand that 75 ohm coax should be at least 1.5 meters - about 5 feet. No, I don’t understand either when normally shorter is better.

Or perhaps some hardware aspects of your CDP have deteriorated with age which affect the digital signal.

The Technics CDP I mentioned is unlistenable probaly due to dodgy soldering or whatever with age and poor storage, and not just because of the antique internal DAC. Haven’t tried an external DAC with it, I didn’t look for digital out. I doubt it somehow, but I might be surprised.

Anyway, "better" is a good start - as I said with mine, better (lower noise floor, better filtering, any jitter figured out etc), as it was already pretty good. That’s all.. Not for one nano-second do I trust anyone who says the earth moves with a component change - something else must be fundamentally weak.

Audiolab 6000CDT has a buffer which helps considerably MSRP ~ $700

I understand they are very good but I don't like slot loading.  Trays aren't much better.

I'm so superficial.