Transports and Technology

I have tried a Denon DCD2560 CDP, A Revox B226, a Studer A727, and A Pioneer DV05 as transports for my EVS millenium dac 2. ALl of the CDPs (no matter how old) ended up sounding better than the DVD as transport. The most noticeable difference was in the bass. The Studer (and Revox, which are similar) were noticeabley better than the Denon even though they were five or so years older. I eventually got a Sony CDP that was modified by EVS for use as a transport and that was better than all of the above by far. I believe it all comes down to jitter. I never noticed that my Studer sounded "bad" while I was using it...probably because it didn't. It was only when I put the EVS transport in that I realized how much information was not being passed (or lost?) by the other players.

To answer your question...yes, transports may be less volatile. The DAC may account for more of the "signature" sound, but the transport is still very important. The DAC should make all transports sound better than they did as a standalone player. A good transport (or player with a good transport inside) brings things up another notch.

Wheeler:
In my experience, I have to agree with the above comments from Marakanetz and Phild. I think that Marakanetz's example of a cartridge or cartidge AND table is spot on. IME, no matter how good the component may be, the DOWNSTREAM component can do nothing to improve what it is being fed; it can only process it transparently.
As I stated in one of your previous threads, when I purchased my CEC TL2, a quality but affordable transport, it was the first time that I had the opportunity to experience what a good transport can accomplish for the quality of the production. The only other transport on my short list was the Muse 8. I find Jafox's comments most interesting. I am sure it would be a pleasant dialog to compare notes.
I have gone thru the same search as yourself. I would gladly share with you what I saw and learned. If you are interested, email me offline.

A couple of thoughts. One is that Redbook DAC volatility has subsided considerably from the hectic rate of change of the nineties. The area where digital is likely to undergo the most turmoil in the next few years is high rez. And for high rez, the transport will be involved as well as the DAC.

With my limited transport experience I can nevertheless confirm that transports have made an important difference at each case in my audio career, even comparable to DACs. The only pure transport I own(ed) is the Audiolab 8000CDM; it is now clearly bettered by a Philips DVD 963 SA - as a transport -, feeding the Bel Canto DAC2. It offers much more detail and a more colorful sound, whereas the Audiolab sounds downright dark in comparison. I guess the Philips has a very good transport section.

Martian_23