BEST CD TRANSPORT

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.

Adding to the other perspective, sometimes a great CDP or SACD player can make a great transport. It all depends on who made it and what their design criteria was/is.

My Technics SL-G700 SACD player is used as a CDT for CDs using its Toslink out and the RCA outs are used only when playing SACDs. The sound I get with CDs can be breathtaking compared to my old Marantz Reference CDP.

All the best,
Nonoise