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Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home

I'm quite happy with my system (Silverline 17.5 monitors/Wells Majestic integrated/Aqua La Voce II/Jolida JD100 (as transport) but am wondering whether I ought to purchase another transport before they're no longer available.
$3000 would be my limit, budget-wise and longevity is a big concern. Used is OK, as long as unit is M. 

I have two caveats which make this tough-- 1) as a rule, I don't purchase any gear I can't first demo at home and 2)
I'd ideally prefer something made in N. America. Of these two qualifiers, the second is negotiable, but not the first.

I could demo a Bryston BCD-3 from Audio Advisor, but I'm not sure it makes sense to pay for a unit that includes a DAC I won't use. Also, I came across a comment in the Forums that the Bryston has fatiguing highs-- a flaw I particularly abhor. And, it's considerable over my budget. 

The Moon Neo 260D is not, as far as I can tell. possible to audition at home and I read on one of the AGon transport discussion threads that the drawer is flimsy. 

The Jay's Audio products look to be very good but I didn't see anything on their site about a trial period. 

A used PS Audio is a possibility, I guess, although I read that they used Oppo transports, which are no longer being made, so that's a concern from the longevity stand-point. 

 Any other units I should be aware of ??????????????

Thanks. 


stuartk
stuartk OP
2,901 posts
 
Yes-- I'm aware of the Cambridge and it may sound strange for someone with a 25K system to worry about a product being too inexpensive, but I do worry about that. 

Any opinions on using readily available/easily demo'd CDP's as transports, such as Rega or Marantz,for example ?  

twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 
There are actually more transports out there than you might think. Cambridge, Bel Canto, Audiolab, NuPrime, etc., then moving up to the Sim Moon, Jays, league. There have been a couple of long threads on transports over the last year. If you’re shying away from the Bryston, strongly consider the Primare CD35.
stuartk OP
2,901 posts
 
Thanks, twoleftears-- I've read a review of the NuPrime but wasn't aware of the Primare. Will check it out. 
mooglie
101 posts
 

I went through a similar problem recently. I wanted a U.S or N. American unit, or a non-Chinese sourced unit.

 I considered the Sim Audio unit, but was not sure what CD mechanism it used. I wanted a transport that used a dedicated audio CD drive, not an adapted computer drive. I also wanted a unit for which I could easily get a spare drive, in case it failed. I looked at the Japanese CEC TL05 drive, but the U.S. distributor did not respond back to me. I considered buying on E-bay, but  was unsure the unit could be adapted to U.S. voltage without affecting the sound quality.

 I then started looking at European units, and considered the Atoll (French) and Van Medevoort CT360D (Dutch). Both the units used a > $100 Teac 5020 audio only CD drive, which is a robust unit of newer design. and easily found. The Van Medevoort could not be sourced in the U.S.. So, I contacted the U.S. Atoll distributor, who was very responsive to my questions. The unit can be serviced in the U.S., I believe by Nick Gowan at True Sound. The components in the unit are largely of French manufacture. I picked up a spare drive  when I purchased the unit for a modest cost.

I am not certain if an in-home demo is available. Perhaps if you have a nearby dealer? I took a bit of a leap-of-faith by purchasing before hearing. But, I had read a number of European reviews and reviewed the internal design and construction, which appeared to be sound. 

The Tascam 200  uses the same Teac 5020 drive. The Atoll has a significant number of enhancements over it as a transport, but I’d bet the basic character is there. They can be sourced fairly cheaply, and perhaps that might give you enough insight on what a Teac 5020  based unit sounds like?  And the transport build quality? Perhaps a Tascam 200 might even sound good enough as a transport to suit your needs?

 The Bryston BCD-3 uses a Blue Tiger JPL-2800 transport, which appears to be a good quality drive. However, if you’re not going to use the DAC, I’d say you’ll get more value buying a dedicated CD transport.

That Primare CD35 also uses a Teac 5020 drive.   From what I can tell, a number of higher end transports are using the Teac drive. Just some info I thought I’d pass along.

 


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