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Do Transports Matter???

I borrowed an outboard D/A from a friend to try in my system. My intent was to hook the analog outs on my CDP to one input on my preamp and the analog outs of the DAC to another input so I could a/b my player with and without the DAC. However something is wrong with the digital out on my player because I couldn't lock a siginal with the DAC. So I grabbed my pioneer DVD Player and hooked it up as a transport. Everything sounds awesome, made a big difference in my system(won't go into details). The outboard also puts the DVD players onboard DAC to shame(well duh). But this of course also made me wonder if using a different transport(my cdp if it worked)would make any difference?? In reality the DVD player is reading the CD and sending 0s and 1s to the DAC where its reclocked anyway. I know that sometimes little things make a difference, even though on paper they shouldn't. Being this is my first expirence with an outboard DAC, I am just curious if what you use as a transport makes any difference
brianvoelz
elgordo
530 posts
 
I agree with all of the above. My system improved greatly when I upgraded a Theta Data Basic to a Data Basic II. A great transport for not much money is the Audio Alchemy DDS 1. This is a top loader. The company is long out of business though, so parts are not available. They usually sell for around $200 on ebay.
platsolos
90 posts
 
YES!!!!!
subaruguru
1,375 posts
 
The Phillips (?) PRO top-loading transport, well-isolated, in the EC EMC-1 is in a league by itself. Sounds like great analog.
tok20000's avatar
tok20000
608 posts
 
The transport + the AC cord that is on it have a huge impact over the overall sonics of any system

KF
redbeard
14 posts
 
Oh PLEASE!!! Now I've heard it all! The AC cord on the transport makes a difference???

The ONLY thing that makes a difference is the stability of the clock/power/ground at the last digital element prior to the actual D-to-A. (I'm talking downstream if the digital filter here.) Anything upstream of that ONLY makes a difference if it affects in some way, shape, or form the clock at that critical point.

You can have jitter up the ying yang upstream, but as long as proper care has been taken to provide a jitter free clock at the LAST register, upstream crud doesn't matter. Of course the power and ground at the last register also matters because noise on the power or ground cause fluctuations in the switching threshold of digital devices, but even that can be minimized by providing rapid rise and fall times on the clock.

If someone hears a difference when they change a transport or digital cable they should realize that what they are actually hearing is a byproduct of insufficient filtering or isolation IN THE DAC!!!!!!
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