CEC Belt Drive CD Transports vs Jay's Audio CD Transports

@chayro I have to believe that the TL5 with an Audio Note Dac 2.1 Signature is an amazing sounding digital rig!

I think overall the Naim does a pretty good job.  It's dynamic, full sounding with great soundstagning.  But it still sounds digital to me in the way that it can sound hard, and somewhat 2- dimensional at times.  

My vinyl rig sounds 3-dimensional, there's flesh on the bones, a palpable weight to the music.  It just sounds more like real live musicians playing real instruments in a real space.

My Naim gear was supposedly really great back in the day.  At the price point, it sure had better been, lol.  But it never once came close to my vinyl rig.

Decades have come and gone and I'm hoping that digital has come a long way.  I'm skeptical at spending insane amounts of money at it right now.  So I'm dipping my toes back in the water vs just diving in head first again.

I'm starting out with the new LTA Aero Dac  and I'm willing to spend around $2500 to around $5000 for a dedicated cd transport ( hopefully closer to the lower end if possible though ).  It's my hope that this will give me a digital rig that will be satisfying to me. Fingers are crossed.

Thank you again for your post!

Best wishes,

Don

@alexberger Hello and thank you for your post!  I will try and investigate the SHANLING ET3 or SMSL PL200 that you have mentioned.

Best wishes,

Don

@whart I appreciate your recent post!  It seems as though you and I may be somewhat similar.

I do a lot of research, auditioning in home when possible, etc before buying a piece of gear.  I too have been lucky in that I've been very happy with the majority of my gear and have had it all for a very long time.  I'm not a flavor of the month kind of guy.  I buy the best that I can that is within my budget and I am generally very happy with that for a very long time.

I suspect that vinyl will always be my primary source.  But like you, I want to be able to listen to music that I can't find on vinyl.  I've spent hundreds on single records that I really wanted... but I refuse to spend thousands on some of these records and so I am hoping I can find decent sounding cd's of the same.

Yes, I agree... I am hoping there may be a few people who have had the opportunity to hear both the CEC and the Jay's that can share their experiences with me.

Thanks again for your contributions!

Best wishes,

Don

@mbmi I love your excitement you have regarding the CEC/Laiv!  I'm curious, what other cd transports have you compared with the CEC? How did they compare or differ in sound?

Thank you for your post!

Best wishes,

Don

@no_regrets - others may disagree, but I really don’t think Redbook 16/44 has improved since the CDS days. You can buy very good Redbook dacs for less money than before, but IMO, the CDS, 555, Wadia, Vekian and a few others were exceptional. But I’m sure the LTA will sound great and the tubes may give it some warmth you may prefer to the CDS. I’m sure you will enjoy trying.