New, Very Interesting CD Transport


On John Darko's website today we learn of the brand new Shanling ET3 CD Transport. And for $729 USD it looks really capable. Top loading with Philips SAA7824 drive. AES/EBU, coaxial, TOSLINK and I2S digital outputs. Plus Wifi and Bluetooth. USB to connect to a external HD and built in upsampling, too. It even will output digital to USB for connection to a DAC but not with upsampling.

Here's the skinny:

https://darko.audio/2023/06/shanlings-et3-cd-transport-comes-with-two-twists/

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@mofojo, described in their own words.



Built around the class-leading CD-Pro 8 mechanism from the optical division of StreamUnlimited, and developed in collaboration with Pro-Ject Audio Systems, the CD Box RS 2 T’s drive alone features a high-quality aluminium chassis, carbon fibre cover and a carbon fibre turntable. The mechanism is then equipped with a SANYO HD850 OPU and internally coupled to a CD-84 servo board for maximum information retrieval and transmission. Vibration dampers are mounted on the very rigid carbon fibre chassis, and then the whole surrounding chassis is firmly connected to the body of the CD Box RS2 T for absolute rigidity and minimal vibrations. For reduced resonance, the CD Box RS2 T features a gravity design with a central mass point.

The drive chassis is milled from a solid block of aluminium and engineered to hold firm in any environment. Each turntable is also lathed from steel and chrome plated. This is critical for transportation and ensures it will last a lifetime. The suspension system consists of a rigid carbon fibre plate, carbon fibre tubes, springs, silicon dampers and screws. The suspension, cover and turntable platter is made of pure carbon fibre. Everything that’s gone into engineering this drive has been done to achieve absolute technical and mechanical perfection.

 

Why waste money? I just ordered from eBay a Samsung DVD-HD841 to use as a transport. $16 including shipping and tax! All CD/DVD players have to conform to protocol and output the same digital bits! That's the difference between a digital device (transport) and an analog device (turntable). Turntables are inherently sonically colored while digital transports are not! This is the reality that the "golden ears" crowd prefers to wish away!

What a load of twaddle.

 

@magnuman : I've been at this stuff a lot longer than you! Heck, if I thought spending four-figures on a transport would give me better sound I'd for sure do it! The digital world is totally unlike Analog - where structural integrity, mechanical precision and vibration control rule! 

I well remember back about thirty years ago when the golden-ear crowd was gaga over the CEC belt-drive transport! Anybody ever see one of those lately? Didn’t think so! How about the Theta transport praised by TAS that was actually a $200 DVD player hidden intact inside a metal shell? TAS said it was the best sounding transport ever and a new standard for digital playback!