USB CD Transports

@mahler123 …”I continue to be amazed when posters ask about a transport or a CDP and then gets told by the usual half dozen suspects that they should be playing ripped CDs.”.

Or… when an OP asks a question about older technology some folks try to be helpful and point out options they may not be aware of.

As someone that has introduced new technology to users who seldom have a broad understanding of the state of technology for decades. I always try to make sure to look at the broader picture. Typically it can be really helpful to point it out contemporary alternatives. They can easily ignore the advice, after all it is free.

A recent example was a user was printing out hundreds of invoices each day. They then would take this huge pile to a scanner and scan them one by one into files, which would be emailed to her workstation, where she would retrieve them one by one, find the customers email and forward the scanned document to the customer. She wanted to know if I could batch the printing… so she did not have to print them one by one.

I could have answered the question. Instead I pointed to the menu item below print document that said email to customer. Suddenly, no printing, no scanning, no matching emails to the customers address. One very happy user.

It’s the assumption often wrongly made that the user is not aware of other technologies, and the bias about CD or LP not being as worthy...often resulting in a very direct question, by a knowledgeable OP, getting derailed to suit someone else's purpose... 

Or…  if the OP is  knowledgable they could add that to their query… that they are aware of newer methods. Or that is not necessary, they can ignore helpful alternative posts.

CEC Transport !

I love the thought of owning the CEC, Jay's Audio, Aurender or other higher-end transport or player. For now, I am enjoying my under-$800.00 Shanling. I think the music I am hearing feels somehow "lighter"; maybe more airy or quicker. Yet there's a full, tight bass and a very smooth midrange. Not tube-like, certainly, but no harsh or sharp edges to vocals or acoustic instruments. I hesitate to say the PRaT are better than the ROTEL because I have yet to pull out my reference CDs and give an extended critical listen. I know the ET3 is a compromise but hey...I bought it just to see if it would be a fun new toy to play with as a substitute for the still-unavailable Pro-Ject transport. And it is. So I have no doubt that the high end transports would do a better job of reproducing my music. I just can't afford to go any higher right now.

I never meant to hijack the thread or doubt the knowledge or judgment of others. I know that we all have our opinions and levels of comfort with the hobby. But I do think that we ignore the bespoke technologies at times when they still have something to offer.