Transporter vs Ayre CX-7e

You are talking about a $2,000 DAC (Transporter) versus a $6,000 disc player, and an Ayre at that. The Ayre is going to be better. The DAC is better. The outputs are better.

The Transporter is not something you trade in for a disc player. The Transporter has the potential to be a true end-game device because once you are done with the DAC and analog portions and are ready to upgrade, the Transporter has almost limitless potential when paired with a proper DAC like a dCS, Esoteric, or similar device. The Transporter, as a pure Transport, is an extremely formidable and cost effective device.

Yes the Ayre sounds better but it is also utterly obsolete. It has no digital input! Hard drive based storage and error correction and the ability to browse your library by remote should now be baseline features of all non SACD based audiophile systems. At the very least, any high-end disc player should accept a digital coax input from a music server.

If I were you, I would enjoy the Transporter for what it is now and save up for a real reference outboard DAC to pair it with. The end result will be a lot better than the Ayre. I dumped a $5,000 Goldmund transport for a $300 Squeezebox and got equally good if not better results with my dCS Delius and Purcell upsampler. I am getting even better results now that I am playing around with EAC and error correction.

Don't spend your money on disc players if you already have a Transporter. If you want something better, than just make the Transporter a dedicated Transport and get a better DAC.

I will consider Ayre disc players again when they accept external digital sources.

Wow this IS an interesting thread. You guys rock!

Mtdking - it seems we have similar tastes or goals if you will.

I've done some upgrading in the past year. Nuforce SEV2 mono's and a Transporter to start with. A Cary SLP-05 went in next. Wew wanted the Wilson 7's but decided to go a completely different direction in the form of line arrays. It was a painful 7 month wait for the speaker order and another long breakin period to get these arrays to sing. I modded the x-overs with platinum bypass caps, added polyfil and spiked these monsters. Then I picked up a Halcro MC50 (5 channel class D amp no one talks about) which was killed by the Nuforces until I added wood under the Cary but that's another topic/thread

This has been a huge learning experience and I've been at this for 40 years! I can't tell you what wood has done under my Cary pre. I'm still scratching my head over this one - but I digress and sorry for being off topic.

I wish to play hi rez music. I have no SACD player. I only have a Sony PS3 to spin CD's but I discovered that the 40Gig model doesn't play SACD. Not a big deal though, I mean, how good could that be? Still, I wish to hear SACD. Now I haven't been able to here hi rez on my Transporter because I don't know where to find these files. I've been looking at the Marantz SA7, SA11 to mod and Sony 9100ES to mod. I will eventually "truth" mod the Transporter and maybe sooner depending upon my research here.

If I mod the Transporter and can find hi-rez music to play at the 88Khz level then why bother with an SACD player, right? Am I missing something here? Can a Modded TP sound as well as a Modded SACD player? Is it worth all that added expense if you can find the fore mentioned hi-rez files?

What we are hearing now from our system is pretty amazing. I'm going to write a amateur review of the GR-Research/AV123 LS6 line array sometime soon. I'm hopeful to procure some Tesla speaker cables and give this system another boost if it turns out that way.

OK, so where can I find those hi-rez files?

Ayre is coming out with a USB dac for under $2000 that is going to be very good. Asynchronous USB seems to be where the industry is headed. I am willing to bet the USB DAC is as good as the CX-7e.