Is it worth upgrading a CD player?

@charles1dad Thank you. Have you heard the Jay’s Audio CDT3Mk2 or Mk3? How does it compare with the Project is what I want to know. For a short time, Steve Guttenberg/Youtube preferred the Project to the CDT2Mk2, then did a newer video just extolling the virtues of the CDT2Mk3 as I recall. What is it that would make the CDT3Mk2 or 3 at least equivalent to the Project unit. I could buy either but prefer the sonically better unit. Thanks.

Just saw this Youtube  He states Hi, its a customers drive who has the QStab RST...Projekt with LPS comes close but has no OCXO clock...but its way to expensive...cheers Mike He thinks that the Project is overpriced considering it's cheap power supply which he acknowledged can be upgraded and lack of extra clock.  Still not a clear cut answer.

@fleschler

I understand, it’s High End audio and everyone has an opinion. Invariably someone will prefer one or the other. There will never be an universal consensus. This is why I advocate either CD transport. I haven’t heard the Jay’s Audio transports but trust opinions of Agon members who have. You’ll have no difficulty finding listeners praising either Jay’s or RS2T.

I don’t happen to agree with the “over priced” opinion, but that’s me. The RS2T offers the lowest entry price to get the Stream Unlimited CD Pro-8:Blue Tiger servo integrated drive unit.to get in other transports

1Aqua Audio Diva II (Current version) about10K

2 Acustic Arts Drive II about 17K

3 Gryphon ETHOS CD player 35K.

Jay’s Audio uses the very fine but out of production Phillips drive mechanism. I am not saying that the more expensive transports (Using Stream Unlimited) don’t offer additional feature/factors. But that Drive unit is a very important and vital piece of the sonic picture. BTW sound quality is excellent with the supplied SMPS. It’s just that good as it is, it can be further improve with a good LPS. This is what I did.

I believe if I owned a Jay’s Audio CD transport I’d be very pleased with it. Particularly their flagship CDT3 MK III. I do not believe that there is only one path to excellent CD sound. I just happen to know based on my own experience the RS2T is one way to get there among others. Agon member wig has owned the CDT2 MK III and has the RS2T. You should email him via this site.

Bottom line is I don’t believe you could go wrong with either transport, either is capable of making you happy in my opinion.

Charles

@charles1dad Thank you for your knowledge. I didn’t know anything about the Project transport mechanism which apparently is used in three high cost (high end) units.

The primary reason that my extreme modified Arcam Delta units sound good is their Philips CDM 9 transports (Jays uses a cheaper version curved CDM 4 for the CDT2 and straight line CDPRO2 LF modified for the CDT3).

It is probably why my living room Kyocera CDP sounds so good with it’s ceramic chassis spacers/guide shafts and sapphire spindle for the transport. Not as good as my separates though.

Have you heard any CDPs that compare at under $10K or above to your system? Such as the Luxman 03X, Accuphase DP450 (or more expensive DP550), Audio Note 4.1 (expensive too), Ayon CD10 or CD 35 II. Could it be better purchasing an equally good or better sounding CDP for $4K to $15K than adding a $5k transport to my system or are symbiotic matched separates (like yours) better in the same price range?

I grew up with analog for over 45 years before serious digital sound consideration. It’s only been 17 years when I bought an EAR Acute that I appreciated CDs (yet I now have 7,000). It’s only been 3 years that I purchased digital separates and this year found a great cable and all round good sounding transport.

Have you heard any CDPs that compare at under $10K or above to your system? Such as the Luxman 03X, Accuphase DP450 (or more expensive DP550), Audio Note 4.1 (expensive too), Ayon CD10 or CD 35 II. Could it be better purchasing an equally good or better sounding CDP for $4K to $15K than adding a $5k transport to my system or are symbiotic matched separates (like yours) better in the same price range?

This is a list of really good contenders. Of your list I’ve only heard the Audio Note and Ayon but under audio show conditions in single brand system format. You could not make a bad choice with any of these. High quality CD player is a fine alternative to separate transport-DAC arrangement. You have very good options with your given budget.

Ayon and Audio Note take decidedly different paths to design and approach. I do not know which philosophical camp you adhere to (oversampling/up sampling vs NOS/No digital filtering), but both succeed in their own ways. I like the flexibility separate transport and DAC allow. In terms of sound quality, I do not believe there is a penalty if one chooses a CD player if it is high quality.

You have a very large CD collection and I’m sure that many of them are cherished. It makes perfect sense to want a top-quality CD playback system to fully appreciate them. So, an upper tier CD player or separates. Either will deliver for you.

Charles

Bro, save your money, you won’t notice an epiphany or rapture , or when yo u press play , the seas will part to let yo u listen as you walk through. 
 

 Save money. 
I will put my aging elite dv-79avi against many of the listed CD players 

us also, analog, didn’t get into cd players til almost 1990, as they were too darn expensive , plus I could buy the tape for a lot less, even the records were affordable in 84(. 
 

I would love to buy the new releases of my fav bands these days, the extortion from the companies is astronomical!  Posses me off something I.  Especially for a collector of metal stuff. 1 lp would cost me 30-35$. No thank you, I wait a week and buy a used cd.  I remember buying my very first Venom 7” BLOODLUST, still have the purple 7”.  3.50.