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Best transport for redbook and HDCD?

I would like to get a better transport for my ECD-1 dac.
I use an original Rega Planet currently and do prefer top-loaders although it's not a neccessity. I have pondered the lowest priced belt-drives by CEC/Parasound but am not sure if the belt-drive will make an audible difference. I do not know of any other brands that have a belt-drive.
Some have suggested the EAD and CAL universal transports that play CD's and laserdisc's. Others perferred dedicated redbook transports like the McCormack SST-1.
I have even pondered DVD units such a the Sony DVP-7700 and the Toshiba SD-9200 with DVD-A and wonder how well they stack up against lower priced stand alones.
For any help, Thanks
imin2u
tfkaudio
591 posts
 
I've heard a number of people rave about the Music Hall CD-25. Obviously, at $500 it is not trying to compete with the big boys, but I've heard only glowing praise so far.
slingshot
55 posts
 
Just purchased a CAL 2500 DVD player brand new for $850 to use as transport for Reimyo DAP-777. The main reason I purchased it was due to the excellent reviews as a transport from Wide Screen Review, and SGTH, the fact that it has a balanced digital output and the price was right. Haven't even hooked it up yet, will let you know.

BTW, the Reimyo is a killer DAC as discussed in 6moons review. Even with 50 cent patch cords before I inserted a HT digital cable it sounded great with great material. (Used Marantz SA-14v2 as the transport.) Will be giving a full review later.
tombowlus
416 posts
 
Imin2u:

Flimsy, really? Mine seems rock solid. It is a darn fine player and has HDCD. True, if you are going to use it as a transport, then you don't care about the Ring-DAC (which sounds good to my ears), but the chassis is very well made, quite solid, and well dampened throughout. There are probably cheaper options out there, but at $1,200 used, when you consider the build quality, HDCD capabilities, and good internal converters (if you ever need them), it seems like a worthy player to add to the list of possibilities.
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