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Premier Redbook CD Transport or SACD Player?

I have gone through a few excellent DACs: Counterpoint DA10, Electrocompaniet ECD1 and now the awesome Manley Ref Tube DAC. I have used a Pioneer PD65 as a transport as well as the Muse Model 8 transport that I use in my HT setup. Both of these sound equally phenomenol with the above DACs. Rest of system is BAT VK31SE to a Counterpoint NPS400 amp and Thiel 3.6s which will soon be replaced as I return to Magnepan series 3 speakers. All cabling is NBS Statement except tonearm cable which is SilverAudio.

Perhaps I have gotten to the point where CDs will not get much better but I continue to chase the sound of my analog system: Clearaudio Ref TT/TQI Linear Arm/Koetsu Rosewood Sig or Clearaudio Accurate into a BAT VKP10. But would one of the CEC TL1 or TL2 transports take me a step closer or am I just better off to spend the money on an SACD player that perhaps would make a great transport and also bring me into the SACD world? I do not want any more products in the system than I need so if I can get by with a SACD player that also acts well as a CD transport this would be great....or am I truly better off with a transport optimized for CD playback?
jafox
thsalmon
348 posts
 
You can have both in one box with the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD!
stehno
1,453 posts
 
As a happy owner of an Sony SCD-1 cdp, I believe one would be hard-pressed to find a better cdp for redbook or sacd formats anywhere near this price range.

I would not hesitate to buy the SCD-1 again. But not necessarily because of it's SACD playback.

I am of the camp that ultimately, it is the quality of the recording that counts, regardless of format.

With that said, I would recommend shopping for the best redbook cdp for a given budget. And if the one found happened to play SACD, I'd consider that a freebie or benefit. But I would not consider it mandatory on my checklist.

-IMO
jafox OP
1,456 posts
 
Hey, thank you for many valuable tips here. I am trying to move myself into the 21st century and yet my LP playback system seems to continue to trounce all that the 21st century digital world has brought to us. And with the recent acquisition of a Versa Dynamics 2 to shootout with my Clearaudio, I will be playing with LPs a lot more than I have been lately. With that said, I think the SCD-1 sounds like a mighty fine option if it indeed is a great transport and opens the door to some incredible recordings coming out on SACD. I just don't want multiple transports here. It's already bad enough with a HT system that has VHS, Laserdisc and now DVDs. All these formats are an absolute pain ... there's hardware everywhere!

One thing I forgot to mention is that I just got a Genesis Time Lens and put it in the system. But I have not gone back to remove it and hear what it does or does not do. So I am eager to improve redbook CD playback. But I have focused much of my attention to LPs.

The Manley DAC truly is THAT good and I suspect no single player unit can match it but auditions have proved me wrong over and over. So I do want (need) a unit to output redbook digital to the Manley. We all will worry about external DACs for multi-channel SACD / DVDA at a later time.

As for budget, well for me it is often all over the place. I am willing to pay what it takes to move up significantly, but like the PS Audio xTream Statement Power Cord audition recently pointed out to me, you can get an incredible product without having to pay 3-4x the price of the competition. So Tireguy, pass on to me your ideas so I can at least look into this. And Chelillingworth, I know nothing of the products you mentioned so I too would like to reaserch these.

Thank you very much to all.

John
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