Jays Audio has a new transport coming out at 5K
CD transports; do they really matter
In my pursuit of total sonic harmony, I have been investigating whether a CD transport ( to replace my bulky and aged Luxman CD player ) would be a good option. I had an interesting conversation with the manufacturers rep of a respected brand regarding his companies CD transport. He basically said its all in the DAC, the transport, as long as its not a cheap component, does not make much or any difference. So, I ask does it really matter?
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[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. |
"I have tried many transports and can not hear a difference between an expensive transport and a cheap blu ray player from best buy - " & "I can’t recall the models but a toshiba dvd player, an NAD cd player, sony blu ray player, Denon cd player, and a couple others - nothing very expensive although the NAD was a well built model. " It doesn’t really seem that you have allowed yourself an opportunity to really evaluate if an ’expensive’ transport positively impacts SQ. I think that if you tried even a modestly priced transport, say a Cambridge CXC, or Audiolab 6000 that you would likely hear an SQ difference, let alone via an even better quality transport beyond those. |
Exactly on point! None of the lower level CD players on his list would come close in sound quality to the modestly priced Audiolab 6000. Not to mention something like the CEC TL5 or SimAudio 260D transport that takes you to an even ( higher level of sound quality from the Audiolab 6000 transport. And yet you can go further upward with Jay’s Audio CD transports and certainly Pro-Ject RS2T. IMO @majorc needs to gain exposure and listen to the better quality CD transports and then compare these to the CD players he cited. I believe that there’s no doubt he would easily recognize the significant improvement gained with better built and executed/implemented transports. Charles
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