BEST CD TRANSPORT

I have several excellent CD players and just bought the Audiolab 9000CDT and it is truly wonderful machine, very well built and with superior performance.

The Atoll DR200 Signature and the two newcommers, the Schiit URD and Shanling ET-3, are also interesting - all at reasonable prices for well designed CD transports.

The jays MKII was also a very good transport. It is more forward sounding than the Pro-Ject and the Audiomeca so it sounds a little faster. 

Wish I'd known this before ordering my Jay's! Not one review I read mentioned the forward aspect. In my system, I found it quite fatiguing until I eliminated silver cabling and changed out the Symposium Roller Block footers. I can't imagine pairing the Jay's with a "surgical" DAC -- a tubed DAC would probably be ideal.  

I typically don't buy anything without a return option and this experience has reinforced my intention to not break my own rule, again. Having said that, I'm not sure what other transport I would've worked, at the price point, as I did not care for the ergonomics of the pro-ject.  

Wish I'd known this before ordering my Jay's! Not one review I read mentioned the forward aspect. In my system, I found it quite fatiguing

Humm, I don't find the Jays CDT2 MK3 bright or forward. Not at all. I don't use silver interconnects and the Qutest DAC isn't extremely forward either, not like some ESS Dacs.

I guess it's a total system thing - but my Jay's is strong in bass and pretty even otherwise. Sorry, it's not to your liking.

I have both the Jay's CDT2 Mk3 and CDT3 Mk3 - both good units. The most important thing I learned after graduating to these more capable players is that using good CD-R's (I am using "Maxell for Music" blanks) and using .wav files burned onto them at the "slow" speed on my desktop computer can make a big difference in sound quality.

Hey hybrids, I could like those too (with a second mortgage on my house).

I am using an Audio Note UK CDT2/II though and I like it just fine.