BEST CD TRANSPORT

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

@bolong Did you see the review on the Jay's Audio CDT3-MK3 in the May edition of Stereophile? John Atkinson's measurements were not very flattering! Because of the high noise it only offered 15 bits of information to the DAC versus 16 bit. It may sound good but this would be concerning to me.

Stereophile Review of CDT3 Mk3

I suggest that everyone interested in this CD Transport read Atkinson's review. It was not at all unflattering, and the final note on bits was that engaging the 4x upsampler captured all the bits which is why I run in that mode. I can see why the manufacturer put an in-your-face toggle switch on the machine rather than try to use an array of buttons. This strategy tells the owner to "looky here" at this switch and try it.