Reference Transports: An overall perspective

We may have gotten a bit side tracked from my original response. Here is a very simple example of why a transport makes no difference. We build the following hypothetical system. This system consist of 3 boxes interconnected. They are:

A. Transport only
B. RAM only
C. Digital filters/DAC/Output stage

These 3 boxes make up a complete CD player. The following lists a step by step process to listen to music.

1. Download entire song from Transport into RAM, error free of course.
2. Turn OFF Transport and disconnect it from RAM.
3. Discard Transport into an incinerator and burn it.
4. Play music from RAM thru box C which has the digital filters and DAC.

I finally came back to this post after starting it way back in March. I'm sure no one is still following it but if they are, here is my take (to quote Lktanx with an important modification):

"Here is a very simple example of why a transport makes [A] difference."
In real life any fool with a pair of ears can hear that some with error free output sound like crap and some with error free output sound like music.

Yes, pragmatism, empiricism, and experimentation are all that I have to offer.

One can continue to argue that transports SHOULDN'T make a difference but to argue that they don't make a difference is simply un-scientific:
1. You've hypothesized that transports shouldn't make a difference to the way CDs sound;
2. You run a controlled experiment where you test your hypothesis;
3. The experiment shows that there is an enormous difference in the way two transports sound (even though both provide 'error free' output to the DAC).
4. You must scrap your hypothesis and move on.

"Here is a very simple example of why a transport makes [A] difference."
In real life any fool with a pair of ears can hear that some with error free output sound like crap and some with error free output sound like music.

Exlibris, Your take, using a pair of ears, can also find some support from a pair of eyes (actually, one eye is sufficient). Check out the following link for a pictoral comparison between Esoteric's VRDS-NEO transport and some other transports, including some that are used in top-tier players. For me, it's an example of a picture is worth a million words: http://www.aplhifi.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=560

Thanks for your thread, it's been very informative.

Best Regards,
John

John,
Thanks for the link. That really does put things in perspective.

HARD-DRIVE!