[Yes, you are correct. However, high end equipment will incorporate transports in heavy dampening structures to reduce vibration, feed the exceptionally clean power, isolate from electronic noice and get a tremendously better sound quality.
Also, you need a system of a certain level of resolution and fidelity before differences in transports start making a difference. In general, the better the system the more obvious and important the sonic differences in a transport.]
From my experience, you don’t need high end gears to hear differences in cd transport.
Few yrs back I walked into a showroom and tested the Cambridge Audio CXC vs the Audiolab 6000CDT. The setup was all Cambridge audio equipment and speakers was floorstand around USD1200. Can’t remember exact models but they were all mainstream entry level stuffs.
The CXC sounded slow and lack of bite and attack. I bought the Audiolab. Throughout the whole listening audition, the sales guy kept quiet. Until the payment stage, he said all who came in to audition these two chose the Audiolab and they said the exact same thing as what I heard. It’s really a pure blind test.
The CXC and AL transports are entry level cheap stuffs. And yet under the same playback sys produced audible differences that anyone can clearly pin point. And we’re also looking at drawer vs slot mechanism.
I also did a comparison test at my friend’s house. He has a USD450 China brand CD player and a cheap USD80 Pioneer dvd player. Both coax digital out to his Parasound DAC preamp, and the CD player beats dvd hands down.
I’m thinking those players majorc tested must be really crap stuffs, cos no way a proper CD transport would have no audible differences, as what I’ve experienced from the CXC vs 6000CDT. Definitely not some psychology made up illusions there.
