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

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. 

@chayro  Hello, it's great to hear from you again!

I've still been really struggling with health issues.  Back in June I got hit very hard with Covid ( the very first time I have ever had it ).  It attacked my heart, lungs and kidneys.  I was in the hospital and I missed over 6 weeks of work.  I'm no longer contagious, but I still have trouble breathing... very fatigued, and the doctors still have not gotten my vitals regulated yet.  Therefore, I don't have the energy, strength or even the desire to insert/remove/re-insert gear to do a direct compare with the Naim CDSII/XPS.

However, just by going by memory... which can be difficult at times, I feel that the Jay's / Mojo combo simply blows the the big two box Naim set out of the water.

Back when I bought the Naim CDSII/XPS with all the special cables, etc.  It was a great player!  To the point that I even put in a new transport/laser mechanism and recapped the entire power supply ( done by authorized Naim service tech in Chicago ).  However, as great as that two box set was.... it never came close to sounding as good as my vinyl rig.  It never fooled me into thinking I wasn't listening to a silver disc.  Man, I paid a lot for that digital rig too, not to mention the huge cost I had paid for updating it again.

This Jay's/Mojo Audio Mystique X-24AM combo is simply amazing!  I am gobsmacked listening to it.  You put a well recored disc in and it simply blows me away with the rich, full, dynamic sound.  It's got soul, it's got drive, it's got emotion!  I am so glad that I stepped up and bought this rig and to me it is worth every penny I paid for it.  I love this combo so much that I bought a replacement drive/laser mechanism for the Jay's cd transport (which is user replaceable) as a reserve for the future and with the great support from Benjamin at Mojo Audio, I have no reason not to believe that this will be my last digital system.  I'm 60 now - so it should take me to my final curtain.

Best wishes,

Don

@no_regrets -well, I’m glad to hear you are recovering. When you have health problems, you realize how unimportant other things are on the priority list. Glad you’re happy with the Jays/mojo combo.  I’m sure it sounds wonderful. And forget that “final curtain “ stuff. You have many years and upgrades ahead!