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A phenomenal new CD transport-Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 transport

I have had in-house for the last week Pro-Ject's new CD Box RS2 transport to review for the website Stereo Times. I was very curious to assess its performance because it uses the Pro 8 drive with the Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card. This drive was developed and built by StreamUnlimited a company started by the original Phillips designers that historically built the finest CD mechanisms. Only two other companies use the StreamUnlimited 8 drive and Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card, their pieces cost $16,000 and $39,000 compared to Pro-Ject's sane price of $3,000!

My reference for the last two years has been the excellent Jay's Audio MK-II transport that had out-performed much more expensive highly regarded transports in my system. Well, across every sonic parameter  (transparency/micro-details-overall dynamics/bottom-end extension/purity of tonality- a much more airy sound-stage with wonderful 3D imaging) compared to the Jay's Audio transport.

That's way I titled this thread a "phenomenal new CD transport" because while not inexpensive, it just might be a bargain based on its performance. Mind you, this superlative level of performance is based on using the switching power supply that Pro-Ject ships the transport with. I have shortly coming a custom 20 watt 3 amp linear power supply from Linear Tube Audio and Pro-Ject's own upgraded power supply to see if the RS2 transport performance will even go to a higher qualitative level of performance.

I'll be writing a full detailed review for Stereo Times in the near future. However, I wanted to share this information to GON members who still spin CDs. I have had numerous CD transports in for evaluation and this just might be the best sounding of all of them.

Teajay (Terry London)




amorstereo
pguezze's avatar
pguezze
29 posts
 
@hcywng I purchased from TMR Audio. Ask for Nick and let him know Paul sent you. 😎.   

P.S. There was a nice discount. 
@charles1dad I will definitely do a comparison review after a decent amount of break in.
pguezze's avatar
pguezze
29 posts
 
What digital cable is everyone using with their Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 transport?
disc
122 posts
 
pguezze, from teajay earlier: "First, disc I highly recommend you try the Black Cat Digit 110 AES/EBU cable that retails for $875. It's my reference cable and competes with much more expensive models."  That has been seconded in this thread.  I ended up going a cheaper route -- WireWorld Micro-Platinum Eclipse 8 AES/EDU.  I got it from Walter at Underwood HiFi -- I've purchased several pieces of gear from Walter, including the RS2 transport, and have been very happy with his advice, pricing and speed of delivery.  The WireWorld was a little more than half the price of the Black Cat.  I'm loving it, though I'm sure I'll start dreaming about black cats in a few months.  I tried to find a shoot out of various AES/EDU cables before buying, but had no luck.  Cheers.
pguezze's avatar
pguezze
29 posts
 
@disc thanks so much for the recommendation. I have a full loom of Wireworld interconnects, speaker, and power cords so it probably makes sense for me to stick with Wireworld. 
What length did you get? I’ve read to stick with a minimum of 1.5m. 1.0m would work for me but thinking the 1.5m will sound its best. 
disc
122 posts
 
@pguezze mine is 1.5 M, based on what I read here (likely the same threads you found).  I usually go as short as possible, but made an exception.  It's possible teajay or someone else has compared the WireWorld with the Black Cat and will chime in. 
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