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Dedicated CD Transport vs DAC

Greetings,

Just some honest questions...

In your opinion, based on what you have actually experienced....

1)  Which accounts for the most sonic improvement?  A quality dedicated CD Transport or a Quality DAC?

2)  If a person could assign a percentage... by what % did your cd transport improve your sound?  By what % did your new dac improve your sound?

3)  If you honestly gained an improvement in sound... was it like, " Oh my God, I can't believe how great this improvement is " or is it more like, " I can hear an improvement but no wheres nearly commensurate with the increase in price it cost me."

Coming from being highly invested in vinyl playback for the last 50 years... I'm struggling trying to decide how to improve the cd playback side of my system.

Up to this point in time, I've usually found cd playback to oftentimes sound hard, glaring, sterile, two dimensional, etc.

Which in your mind, helps to eliminate the above sound qualities that I dislike?  A new dedicated cd transport or a new dac?

Thanks much for taking the time to reply and help me better understand!

Best wishes,

Don

 

no_regrets
no_regrets OP
543 posts
 

Hi Mark,

Wowza, that is certainly some very high praise for the CDT3mk3🤩

I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me about this!

You certainly have me very excited for this transport.  

Did you buy it directly thru China, or thru the USA rep in Texas?

Did you have to pay shipping or taxes or import duty taxes?

 

Thank you so much!

Best wishes,

Don

aolmrd1241
1,042 posts
 

Don… After exchanging a few emails with Alvin Chee of Beatechnik I purchased direct from him. The price listed on his site is what the total cost is…

no_regrets OP
543 posts
 

Thank you Mark. It's great to know that you didn't have to worry about import duty taxes or the like!

Best wishes,

Don

aolmrd1241
1,042 posts
 

Hey Don… I can’t reply to your PM because I refuse to register my financial details just to message members here!

no_regrets OP
543 posts
 

@aolmrd1241 

Hi Mark... no worries, I completely understand.

I just wanted to take a quick moment to say "thank you" for sharing your experiences with me about your new cd transport!

You had mentioned that you ended up buying it new directly from Alvin Chee. Do you think that there are any pros or cons buying directly from Alvin vs the US dealer Todd at Tek Audio in Texas? 

Todd said that he doesn't keep these in stock at his location in Texas, but simply has the unit dropped shipped directly to the customer. It appears the price is the same either way. Just curious if I am missing anything?

It sounds like the CDT3mk3 is an absolutely fantastic transport! I'm curious what other transports you've had the pleasure of having, just for comparison sake?

Either way, I would have to believe that the Jay's would be a monumental improvement over me using my old vintage Rotel 955AX cd player as a transport. Do you think I would I be wrong in that assumption?

I just got done paying $4000 for my new LTA Aero Dac and now considering spending another $5000 right out of the gate is giving me a little bit of pause, especially if it won't net a significant gain in sonics. I'm not the wealthiest man... it takes me time to save up the cash for these purchases, lol.

In any case, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me! 
Best wishes to you, 

Don

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