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

@oddiofyl  @mesch Thank you so much for the very nice compliments!

@facten Thank you for the compliment and also for your offer regarding the AES cable.  I will try and send you a PM over on WBF soon 

@acresverde Thank you for the compliment on my system!  I will try and send you a PM soon in an effort to answer your question.

Best wishes,

Don

@acresverde I have to apologize.  I have tried sending you a very detailed PM via this site, three times and now and it has failed each and every time.  I am so frustrated.

I am out of energy so I will condense it to simply say.... that in "my" system and within "my" room acoustics; the Mojo played more to what my sonic goals were.

Both dacs are incredible, as are both companies!  I have the highest respect and regard for both Nicholas and Jacob from LTA as well as for Ben at Mojo.  They truly care for their customers and want them to achieve the best sound possible, hence the reason that both companies encourage and provide an excellent trial period and return policy!

So at the end of the day, the Mojo gelled with my system the best.  In another system, I could easily see that the LTA Aero could win your heart!  They both are great pieces and are worthy of audition in your system, if you happen to be looking for a new dac.

I'm sorry that the PM system did not work for me.

Best wishes,

Don

Nice to read your journey. I own the CEC TL-5 and ran across this thread and liked how you stayed on top of it and gave updates. A story all it's own. I bought the CEC TL-5  in 2020. Over the last few years, worsening tinnitus had me selling all of my equipment. As I was about to sell off my records, a friend convinced me to try another system, so I kept the CEC because I have twice as many CD's as LP's (6000 vs 3000) and I kept my DAC, the Mhdt Orchid. The CEC/Orchid combo had beaten all the players I've ever heard in my system and today, after getting a smaller, less revealing setup, I'm still happy with the performance. CD's sound less digital, still not as much headroom as LPs, but damn good to me. With my hearing woes, upgrading doesn't hold any value, but still interesting to read how it goes with others.

Congrats! Unlike Bono, it sounds like you've found what you've been looking for.

@letch 

Thank you for the nice compliments!

Im sorry that you suffer from tinnitus; that must be frustrating and disappointing/discouraging for a music lover, such as yourself😞.
 

Im happy that you didn’t give up with this health challenge and have developed a system that allows you to enjoy your vast music collection 😊

I was torn between the CEC and JAY’s cd transports as both are very respected within the audiophile community.  
 

Im sure your CEC/Orchid source sounds absolutely beautiful and I hope you can continue enjoying it for many years to come!

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Don

@no_regrets - just curious after all this, how the Jay/mojo combo is sounding in your system. Did you compare it directly to the CDS/XPS?  I still think that was one of the best CD players ever made. Also, did you try the digital out on the CDS as a transport?  I know it’s a lot of work switching things around, so I can understand if you didn’t bother.  Probably better to wait a couple months for the new stuff to break in before any meaningful comparisons. I know a lot of people don’t believe in break in, but that hasn’t been my experience.