Best Stand Alone TRANSPORT?

sunder

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Hi Friends, Please suggest, which CDP is Best for stand alone Transport?. That should be trouble free and rugged tray mechanism with nice pick up lens & super Jitter clock.
Budget 25-30 k. Thank you.

Best Regards.

sunder
 
Standalone components tend to be expensive if you want the kind of results you are expecting from such units. The best standalone transport could be slightly off your budget. However, a dear friend of mine swears by his good old Oppo 970 for transport duties. It's the best according to him. Since that model is currently not available, try the best CDP you can find in your budget that is built like a tank (denon comes to mind!) and route the digital out to your choice of external DAC.

What's the rest of your components?
 
Try the Marantz CD 63SE as a Transport and Beresford DACs , I have heard the same combination and the sound is equally good to any mordern day CDPs .
If you are looking for a stand alone Transport , there is nothing available in the market at 30k.
 
I would suggest you use a good universal player as a transport rather than an entry level cd player. The ones that can play dvd/cd etc An oppo dvd player would be a good option.
Some sacd player from sony would be ideal but they may cost more than 30k.
 
but can DAC decode SACD digital signals?

As far as I know it's not usually possible with most of the DACs. To the best of my knowledge, for an external DAC to decode SACD, you need the following:

1. You should be able to tap the DSD line before it enters the player's DAC chip. Denon DVD players are good candidates for this.

2. The DAC chip should be capable of decoding DSD data from the player. The Sabre DAC chips are known to be able to do this.
 
I have a query.
If I have a very good DAC, then no matter which transport /player I use, I will get the best sound ouput?
Means, the sound quality depends only on the DAC not on the player since its ouput the same digital signal .
??
 
It depends on how good your transport can extract data from the CDs played. Take your DAC around and test it yourself.
 
There are currently no outboard DACs that can decode as the SACD format comes through as DSD - usually encrypted signal.

There are mods for this but very pricey. Other options are to use something like a Denon LInk or iLink.

but can DAC decode SACD digital signals?
 
I have a query.
If I have a very good DAC, then no matter which transport /player I use, I will get the best sound ouput?
Means, the sound quality depends only on the DAC not on the player since its ouput the same digital signal .
??

I would think that the gains in upgrading the DAC would far overshadow the gains, if any, you'd get upgrading the transport. Unless ofcourse the transport is horribly bad...
 
There are currently no outboard DACs that can decode as the SACD format comes through as DSD - usually encrypted signal.

There are mods for this but very pricey. Other options are to use something like a Denon LInk or iLink.

The TPA Buffalo and Buffalo 32 can actually do this...
 
I would think that the gains in upgrading the DAC would far overshadow the gains, if any, you'd get upgrading the transport. Unless ofcourse the transport is horribly bad...
Couldnt get you. Please explain.::)

And incase of PC sound card with digital out, is the soundcard doing something useful than sending out same digital data out of the PC? Is this setup (PC + SC) can be replaced by a WD media player right?
 
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Couldnt get you. Please explain.::)...

I'm sorry I didn't make much sense. It's my belief based on my limited experience, that the biggest improvement you would hear would be by upgrading the DAC. I had read about 'upgradation' of disc transports improving the sound but only very minimally. Hence my view that the biggest improvement would come through the DAC uprade. I'll wait for more experienced users to chime-in on this.

...
And incase of PC sound card with digital out, is the soundcard doing something useful than sending out same digital data out of the PC? Is this setup (PC + SC) can be replaced by a WD media player right?

Yes, you are correct on both counts as for as I know.
 
Well I used to be a non believer in transports until I heard a TEAC VRDS system. The difference it made to the sound was phenomenal. If you think transport makes no difference, its time to change your DAC :).

Anyway coming to the point, a good sound card in a PC - either USB or PCI will sound better than a WDTV outputting a digital bitstream simply because the sound card will produce less jitter.

Anyway coming to the point, there's very little that can be had in 25-30k unless you are willing to buy used equipment. Then quite a few choices open up. However as transports are mechanical systems, used ones are a bit dicey!
 
Well I used to be a non believer in transports until I heard a TEAC VRDS system. The difference it made to the sound was phenomenal. If you think transport makes no difference, its time to change your DAC :).

I do believe they would make a difference, just not as much as a DAC. :) Ofcourse like I mentioned, this is from my very little experience and I would LOVE to hear the TEACs/Esoterics some day! When you say 'TEAC VRDS system' was it a Transport/DAC system or a standalone player with digital input? Also, what transport did you use as a reference when you compared the TEAC's transport? My curious mind wants to know. Thanks! :)
 
Hi Friends, Please suggest, which CDP is Best for stand alone Transport?. That should be trouble free and rugged tray mechanism with nice pick up lens & super Jitter clock.
Budget 25-30 k. Thank you.

Best Regards.

sunder
this is THE ONE -

Classe CDT-1 CD Transport - PS Audio Store

including customs = about 30K INR

but, no holds barred, and you have made a killing on dalal street, then this is the one-

http://www.psaudio.com/store/products.php?product=PerfectWave-Transport
 
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I do believe they would make a difference, just not as much as a DAC. :) Ofcourse like I mentioned, this is from my very little experience and I would LOVE to hear the TEACs/Esoterics some day! When you say 'TEAC VRDS system' was it a Transport/DAC system or a standalone player with digital input? Also, what transport did you use as a reference when you compared the TEAC's transport? My curious mind wants to know. Thanks! :)

It was a CD player but well no one uses the VRDS 10 as anything other than a transport. The digital out was fed to a Reimyo and my Audiozone(PD) DAC. Tried comparing it with a DIY Philips CDM12.2 and a Bluenote Stibbert as a transport - both of which are pretty well regarded in their own right. However the VRDS was light years ahead.

However none of these are even close to a semi decent Vinyl rig.

@suri: The CDT-1 is a legendary transport. However getting one in decent condition is hard.
 
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It was a CD player but well no one uses the VRDS 10 as anything other than a transport. The digital out was fed to a Reimyo and my Audiozone(PD) DAC. Tried comparing it with a DIY Philips CDM12.2 and a Bluenote Stibbert as a transport - both of which are pretty well regarded in their own right. However the VRDS was light years ahead.

However none of these are even close to a semi decent Vinyl rig.

I was checking this thread just a few minutes back to see if you had replied. :) Thanks for your time! Let's say I have a budget of $1000 for a transport+DAC combo. Do you think the better option would be to go for a transport like this and spend the remaining $350 on a DAC like the Audiozone. Or would it be better to spend about $100 on a Denon DVD player and go for a DAC like the Buffalo32 with all the bells and whistles?
 
I was checking this thread just a few minutes back to see if you had replied. :) Thanks for your time! Let's say I have a budget of $1000 for a transport+DAC combo. Do you think the better option would be to go for a transport like this and spend the remaining $350 on a DAC like the Audiozone. Or would it be better to spend about $100 on a Denon DVD player and go for a DAC like the Buffalo32 with all the bells and whistles?

First of all the full featured Audiozone with BG and caddocks all round costs a lot more than 350. That transport looks pretty good on paper specs. However I've not heard it so can't really comment since chinese products are hit and trial. Some are incredible bargains, some are absolute rubbish.

DVD players unless very high end ones, will not perform too well for cd playback. Thats what I've realized after listening to a few.
 
First of all the full featured Audiozone with BG and caddocks all round costs a lot more than 350. That transport looks pretty good on paper specs. However I've not heard it so can't really comment since chinese products are hit and trial. Some are incredible bargains, some are absolute rubbish.

DVD players unless very high end ones, will not perform too well for cd playback. Thats what I've realized after listening to a few.

Would you say that for a total system (transport+DAC) budget of less than $1000, the choice of transport would not matter much? Thanks!
 
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