SACD/CD Drive Mechanism Replacement

Yes, Aurender has an app for the Mac Pro. So you can use it to control the streamer.

I would recommend going with the transport you have vs buying something and setting back the date further of getting a good quality streamer. Life is too short. Although this comes from me… a 72 year old. 

@no_regrets  and others with smaller cd collections. Why would you bother with top flight cd player with so few cd's! I have well over 3k cd's, ripped them all to hard drive, this great option to add to streaming.

As for cd mechanisms, got burned on a proprietary Phillips pro drive in Mark Levinson some years ago, reinforced my decision to go streaming well over ten years ago. Streaming and rips superiority to playing cd's off the map, I've discovered music I'd never have discovered and/or be able to purchase via cd or vinyl.  Finally, streaming/rips sound quality doesn't have to take a back seat to physical media.

They aren’t mutually exclusive technologies.  You can enjoy your CD collection and stream simultaneously 

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say "THANK YOU" to everyone for all of your help by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and guidance with me as I tried to decipher which direction to go and which steps to take in the effort of improving the digital side of my music system.  I wanted to give a quick update as to where I am currently at.

I had a busy day yesterday! I was able to purchase an Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper 75 Ohm RCA 1.5 meter digital cable. I then went on to purchased a new LTA Aero Dac from Nicholas at LTA! I will start out utilizing my vintage Rotel 955AX CD Player as the transport - Acoustic Zen Absolute Copper via the Coax output into the Aero Dac.

It is my hope that I will hear a tremendous improvement of sound via the Aero Dac over that of the Rotel’s internal multibit dac. If the Rotel proves to be sufficient, then over time, I will continue to save more money to put towards a high end streamer. If the Rotel isn’t allowing the Aero to shine, then I think I will investigate a better dedicated transport to replace the Rotel; and then do the streamer down the road further.

I would also like to take a quick moment to say that Nicholas from LTA is a true gentleman! I had a very nice email string with him. He replied to each of my emails within minutes! He was very nice and answered all of my questions and was extremely helpful to me. It was a true pleasure corresponding with him and he really made me feel appreciated and valued.

A company may have a great product, but if it is without having people who truly care about their customers... then it kinda falls flat with me. I can honestly say that Nicholas at LTA, truly cares about his customers and has a passion for what they are doing. That right there pushed me over the top to want to buy the LTA Aero! I can’t wait to receive it and install it into my system to hear what it can do!

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this forum thread. This is a great community to be associated with 

Best wishes to you all,

Don