Modwright Transporter VS Opera Droplet 5.0 CDP.

Thanks to all who contributed. I have just finished a trial of the Droplet and will be sending it back. Initially it proved to be quite impressive but in a relatively short period of time became tiring and irritating. I think it is the upsampling implementation that lets it down; too digital and brittle for my liking. Nothing for it but to try and get my hands on a transporter and give it a go.
Of interest to me was how poorly the Droplet with a 24/192 upsampling DAC performed against a non-upsampling, 1 x oversampling 16 bit Audio Note DAC.
It really isn't the size of the dog in a fight but the size of the fight in the dog. I live and learn.

Well, I've previously never heard anyone describe the Droplet 5.0 "tiring and irritating". In that quest to sound non-digital, most feel the company erred on the rich and full-bodied side. But (unfortunately) knowing how often Consonance changes their components in production, perhaps that model has undergone more "revision" than just the digital in? Of course, these things are always dependent on the system/person.

At any rate, your conclusion lines up perfectly with what I said in my first post in this thread, the Audio Note CD player I picked up clearly beats the Droplet 5.0 to my ears, with the Droplet 5.0 being head and shoulders the best (from the perspective of both sonic and reliability) CDP Consonance produces.

Don't feel bad, instead rejoice in the fact that you've ended up with the best player for your system! And, at lower cost, no doubt.

Right you are Trelga. I had forgotten your reference to the Audio Note. What a coincidence. The DAC was everything I had hoped the Droplet would be but I will give credit where credit is due. As a transport the Droplet is fantastic especially paired with the AN DAC.
I have not yet ended up with the best player in my system as the AN was not mine to keep. I am though looking into buying a the maxxed out kit version of the same DAC. I then only have to work out how to best stream computer audio to the DAC. Maybe a standard Transporter is the way to go albeit overkill in it's ability to transfer 24/96 when I only need half that for the AN. The reason to still consider the Transporter is solely for it's fully balanced output which I need/want.

Thanks, Chillinimrod!

We are in total agreement regarding Audio Note.

Unless you are simply in love with the the aesthetic, if you are not going to use the Droplet 5.0 as a standalone player, I would recommend against using it as a transport.

Along with the inconvenience of being a toploader, it simply is too large (22" wide) and heavy (65 lbs) for most people/systems to easily site and use. Its best feature as a transport would be the Philips laser assembly/transport, but you can find that in many other, more convenient front loading machines at a fraction of the Droplet's cost. Beyond that, my personal experience is that if one of the two 6H30 Supertubes happens to short, which I have seen on more than one occasion, the resulting spike in current draw takes the power supply out with it as well. Unless you are willing to put some real money into the very involved repair (entire power supply, less toroid, and all the time/labor involved in the complete teardown and reassembly of a large, complicated component), you are now in possession of a large and unique looking doorstop.

I credit the typical Consonance under-engineering and the inability to bring most of the designs in the fold to completion for the lack of such a simple, logical, easy, and straightforward idea of protecting an otherwise very complex machine under these and other circumstances. It's this sort of thing that was one of my few issues with the tube amplifiers, a bad tube could cause the power transformer to fry, which I've dealt with on four or five occasions, and precludes one from having a local tech be able to make what should be a simple repair, and instead now the company has to be approached in regards to a proprietary and not all that inexpensive replacement part. My opinion was the Consonance would be better served to offer far less components in the lineup, but put far more effort into each individual product they choose to go to bat with - obviously, they feel otherwise.

Hey Chillinimrod, looks like Tvad is selling his Modwright Transporter. Could be your opportunity to try it. Actually, given the tubes he's including, it is a pretty good value IMHO.

I bought my MWTP in January 2008 and have been totally happy with the sound. I also use it as a DAC for those occasions when I still play CD's. I have an old Pioneer "Stable Transport" deck which I use as a transport.

I'm sure the Audio Note DAC is an extremely nice piece, but for the price, the Transporter is hard to beat!