New, Very Interesting CD Transport

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!

*facepalm*

I remember the CEC transport with the unique belt drive system. It was really expensive at the time. I seem to vaguely remember the price being somewhere around $10,000? As I recall it was positively reviewed by the audio critics.

Back to reality for my audio budget. lol

I use the transport section of an Onkyo C-7030 CD player with a few different dacs; all with good results. I paid $173 for it in 2017, and that included a separate 3 year extended warranty. Could the Shanling be that much better for $729? Maybe, maybe not.

It is kinda neat though. 😊