Good transport for under 1K?


I went ahead and got a good DAC (HOLO Spring), and I wanted to pair it with a good cd transport for my redbook collection.   There are so few on the market nowadays.  I only know of the Cambridge CXC.  I prefer new gear, so if anyone can suggest one I’d be very grateful.

T
tyan42
This is an excellent transport that I have hooked up to my DS Sr. via I2S. Also as it is a half size component takes up very little shelf room.

https://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=NPCDT8
Woo Audio has been in business for many years and has a reputation for building quality products.
No affiliation, I know some satisfied owners of their amps.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0114/woo_audio_wtp_1_wds_1.htm


Maritime 51,

If your Rotel has an RCA  digital input for the DAC section it should be no more than running a good 75 ohm digital rca cable between the Cambridge and the preamp, but check your owners manual. 

I have modded the CEC, Sony, Electrocompaniet, Mark Levinson and many other transports over 10 years to improve their jitter.  My modded Sony DVP-7700 was a reference for many years.  None of these are as good as the Synchro-Mesh added to a transport.  If you want the best performance, this is it.  The added bonus is you get 24/96 upsampling and galvanic isolation, so no ground-loop.  30-day money-back, less shipping.

If you believe that somehow transports impart some sort of magic on the audio, you are simply wrong.  It's ONLY about jitter, signal integrity and impedance matching.  99% of transports don't deliver on these.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

I would listen to Steve (audioengr) on this. Your <$1,000 would be better spent on a box that fixes jitter than on a pretty box that creates it but can’t fix it. I assume you already/still have a cd player with digital output that you are using now?

On another subject, Herb Reichert inadvertently reviewed the Holoaudio Spring DAC for Stereophile using the Triode Wire Labs Digital-American Series power cord. When he replaced that power cord with a generic cord, the Spring list some of its magic. If you do not already have one, a good power cord may also add more listening value than a fancy transport.