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From Audio Research ref cd player to what ? (Cd Transport, streamer, Dac.....?)

I have sold my Ref cd7 as I was willing to upgrade. I thought buying a new dac with a new transport , giving more versatility would be better.
I realize now that lots of transport are available and that finally I just have 200 cd’s or so and the investment on a transport is maybe not that wise....

What quality of transport do I need to buy to be at least at the level of the cd7 ? Moving up the scale I have seen the nuprime cdt 10,  simaudio 260d or t , a newly developed project rst2, or the jay’s cdt2 mk2.

What quality of DAC for not to be disappointed with my previous cd7 ? I have seen Ayre  Codex or Yggdrasil or Bryston BDA3 or psaudio , or mytek....

Is it better to buy a streamer as I don’t have thousands of cd’s ? But what ?

All of this will be associated to an Audio Research Ref3 ,  2x Audio Research Ref 250 , Magnepan 20.7.
I don’t like anemic sound and prefer full bodied, romantic, yet envelopping and textured sound.
I don’t need over transparency as my above rig is sufficiently transparent to let everything appear even in the smallest details.

What do you think ?
thank you


antmou
rego
378 posts
 
CD Transport cost goes to a big $$$ (dollar) range for numerous points of discussion and all for 44/16 (redbook) quality files.
Not discounting CD quality only pointing out that savings on a disk transport can be applied to an upgraded streaming transport.
Rip CDs and / or invest in HiRez files ... a custom built PC could be used for CD playback.
HiRez files will give a noticeable gain in playback.
Also aim a little higher for a DAC.
My UDP-203 >>> Coax / WiFi >>> Integrated / Network is all I use for CD
Playback.
soix
9,002 posts
 
Is it better to buy a streamer as I don’t have thousands of cd’s? But what ?
Yes!  I’d highly recommend an Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer/server as it’ll allow you to rip all your CDs right into it and also start streaming — no transport (or computer) necessary.  The significant added benefit is that all your music will now be at your fingertips in any order you want — no more getting up to search for and load individual CDs.  Pair the Innuos with a good tube DAC like the Audio Mirror Tubadour SE Mklll or MHDT Pagoda (both available with in-home trial periods) and I think you’ll be thrilled.  Hope this helps, and best of luck in your search. 

wharfy's avatar
wharfy
309 posts
 
@antmou FWIW-I have Audio Research REF5SE and a REF 75. I’m using the PS Audio Directstream DAC with a streaming bridge and a Cambridge CXC transport. They mate really well for the reasons you articulated, in what you are looking for.
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