CD transports; do they really matter

solid feels better, but

the drawer could be made of granite, rolling on ruby diamonds, or cardboard, totally irrelevant.

after closing, disc gets lifted up and spun, by nearly universal parts, and nearly universal brains, to maintain a constant data stream speed.

"CDs spin at about 500 rpm when read near the center, decreasing to approximately 200 rpm when read near the circumference, producing a constant linear velocity."

the laser simply moves independently in a straight line below the spinning disc, also governed by nearly universal parts and brains

the cheapest portable cd player is able to do this, it's the software, up-scale, re-clock, anti-jitter, error correction, filters, then the dac(s) that make the audible difference.

they've mattered very much in my system

Yes, I agree with Charles and the others who have said that they make a very audible difference. Get the best one that you can afford.

@mdrone :

I compared the Pro-ject to my Sim and there was an immediate and very significant improvement. 

Although I did not care for the ergonomics of the Pro-ject, its sonic merits were clear as day. 

You could order the Pro-ject from one of the online audio sellers than offer returns and return it if you didn't like it. The proof is in  the listening!  

Made a definite improvement even in my mid level system when I stepped up from a Cambridge Audio ACX 35 CD player ( as CD and as transport)  to their CXC v2 transport.  Can’t face spending hours and months ripping my CD collection to a server even if it’s a better way to go.