If someone wants to claim that transports have no sound of their own, fine. My listening experience in mine and other systems have demonstrated to me otherwise. As always, to each their own.
Charles
Charles
looking for the best cd transport only, without dac
I have a Hegel H160 with inbuilt DAC and I'm looking for cd transport recommendation for $1000 or so. I have Harbeth SHL5 + and like an open and transparent sound. I've considered PS Audio PWT and other used options. I'm currently using my $75 Sony bluray player for transport and surprised how good it sounds. I've auditioned transports like Marantz and Cambridge. Options like Primare and Audionote I have't been able to listen to, the latter ones used to get closer to price point. There is also the Oppo 203, but wonder about quality of sound sacrifices in jack of all trades box? When I have compared the few transports I've tried the sound quality differences were quite subtle. So have people here done some serious comparisons of sound quality of just transports and have any great recommendations? Thanks
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- 87 posts total
I would recommend an Esoteric DV50S for $1,300. Very high build quality and a terrific performer. It is a bit overkill as a transport, but it will perform very nicely. |
CD transport itself doesn’t have sound signature however there are very important things that determining how good the CD transport is : level of jitter, the quality of the laser lens, inner cabling , inner clock,the mechanical drive and so on ,so evantually the CD transport can degrade or improve the sound it depends on the quality of the transport .I do agree that it is very important component at our system and we can’t cut corners here. |
I find the discussion and experience of differences in the sound of hifi components fascinating. I know there is a passionate group who feel that DAC's and transports and even amps and cords don't make much of a difference in sound quality as long as they are solidly made. I've come around to realizing for me that speakers are where I put the majority of my investment and notice the most difference in sound. Yet I also experience some differences in other audio components including speaker wire. Maybe this is placebo or inadequate level matching? All that to say that I can imagine there may be some sound quality difference in a cd transport and it's related lens and clock etc. I think I'm wanting to find the sweet spot where I'm not wasting funds chasing some small negligible sound improvement. For me that Hegel and Harbeth SHL5+ both hit this mark. My goal is to now find the commensurate cd transport. The Esoteric and a few others I find a bit bulky, aesthetics are also part of the sweet spot equation for me. So far the CXC and PWT seem the two that are potentials. |
- 87 posts total