2. digital
  3. 1426348636

CD Transport advices

Greetings,
It' s been a long time since my last post here. After years pleased w/ the same system, last year, I started a complete upgrade, and as you will see, I do need some help from my Audiogon's expert fellows.
My current system consists of:

-Dali Epicon 6 - speakers (new - 6 weeks)
-McIntosh MC 452 - amp (new - 7 months)
-McIntosh D100 - pre/DAC (new - 9 months)
-Oppo 103D - transport (new - 9 months)
-Audio Aero Prima MKIII - transport - (old - 7 years) - broken last week...
-Cables: KS 1130 (interconnects), KS 3035 (speakers - arriving next week- I can't wait!), some Fusion Audio and one KS PK 10 Palladian (power cords), Transparent Digital Premium (coaxial).
-in the near future - Aurender server/streamer - model yet to decide.

My new speakers arrived six weeks ago. The differences to my old (and adored!) Anthony Gallo Reference 3.1, were huge w/ the Dali right out of the box, and are becoming more and more evident as the Epicons are running-in (they barely played 60h). I' m still astonished with what I can hear w/ the Epicons 6 in my room! The problem is that the Prima stop reading CDs in the middle of these huge changes and I got completely lost. I fed my oppo w/ the same cables that were feeding the Prima and could not hear (or better saying, remember) much differences between them, but: would I notice, in a A/B comparison? I mean, do you think the old Audio Aero Prima is, in fact, a better transport then the new Oppo 103? Do you think they should play equal when connected to the D100 DAC?! Or, maybe, the Oppo could do a better job, since it is a new project?
Is a CD transport, so crucial to the McIntosh D100 performance? What do I do?
-stay w/ the oppo and forget about CD transport?
-try to fix the Prima, if it should be a better transport then the Oppo?
-or forget both, and buy something else, more compatible w/ the rest of the system? What suggestions then?
Despite the fact that I will probably buy an Aurender server in the near future, I have about 700-800 CDs, some of them really audiophiles, and I wanted to play them in the old fashioned way, and in a level compatible w/ my new system.
As you see, I'm completely lost here, and any tips will be of great help. Sorry for the bad english, and for the long post.
Best regards.
rogertmac
justubes2
203 posts
 
My opinion is like Electroslacker, a well set up streamer comes to close to mega buck transports. Spend the money on good power cords and connects.

Get an Aurrender or similar, i am using a highly modified sonos - power supply stages all upgraded through a remedy femto reclocker. My cables cost more than the unit itself but am getting fantastic results just streaming internet 360kbps files through deezer.

I will never spend money on a transport, fwiw the transport replaced is cost 20x more than the lowly sonos streamer.

Spend the money on a good dac, you'll be set for the future and demise of cd hardware.

I havent listened to cd's in the past months after getting the streamer, except for the occassions comparing and with some hope trying to find the cd sounding superior.

It hasnt happened and am waiting for techonlogy to get better streams in future and i havent even tried DSD streams yet.
rogertmac OP
7 posts
 
I'd like to have both: the Aurender as streamer and a good (at least equal to the Aurender) CD transport, but I don't want to spend too much money in this. I was thinking if the Rega Apollo R would be a good match for the D100, because I could buy it here in Brazil for a good price. Is it good as transport? Would it beat the Oppo 103?
As Justubes adviced me to spend money on a good DAC, do you think the Mcintosh D100 is a good one? I never compared it to any other DAC, and never had any other DAC, so I don't have experience to tell if it is on par w/ other good DACs or not. What is the overall opinion about the D100?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
"If you can, try a Meridian 800 transport. It will be a DRAMATIC improvement over the Oppo 103D transport. I have both and after trying the Oppo, as good of a Blu-ray player that it is - I was disappointed."

I had an 800. It's really a waste of money. Why buy a $20,000 player and just use it as a transport? And a dvd rom drive, no less. A better solution would be to use the Oppo, and get a re clocker to reduce jitter.
rogertmac OP
7 posts
 
Zd, 20k is out of question. I don't want to spend that much in a CD or transport. Not nowadays, when the CD future is so uncertain. For 3,5k there is the new Mcintosh MCT 450, that is a transport made to work w/ the D100/150 McIntosh's pre/DACs. The problem is that I would have to go to USA to buy one, and my plan is to bring an Aurender on the next USA trip. What is this recloker you mentioned? Never heard about it. LOL! (Excuse my ignorance...). Do you think this recloker would improve the quality of the Oppo's signal to my D100 DAC?
More to discover