CD transport

[Shivam]

Has anyone here used or heard-
Little dot CD transport or Musical Fidelity CD-T ?

How do compare with inexpensive DVD/CD players as transports ?

 

[Shivam]

Anyone here who uses any exclusive CD transport ?

 

[hydra]

I think jai1611 still uses a TEAC VRDS10 transport with a Lampizator Level 3 DAC. He's written about his experience with transports here: http://www.hifivision.com/cd-players/28655-transports.html

 

[arj]

Anyone here who uses any exclusive CD transport ?

i have for the last 6 years and prefer them greatly over any usual DVD player and most CD players.
If you want to play CDs with a DAC, get a dedicated CDT or a computer transport

DVDPs are compromised in their transport mechanism, vibration isolation, power supply and the SPDIF output when compared to any decent CDP/CDT

 

[Shivam]

i have for the last 6 years and prefer them greatly over any usual DVD player and most CD players.
If you want to play CDs with a DAC, get a dedicated CDT or a computer transport

DVDPs are compromised in their transport mechanism, vibration isolation, power supply and the SPDIF output when compared to any decent CDP/CDT

Which transport are you using?

Edit : reading about your transport now.

 

[kexuefazhan]

i have for the last 6 years and prefer them greatly over any usual DVD player and most CD players.

 

[tirthankar]

I have been using a TEAC Reference H600 as my CD transport since the last one and a half years. I prefer the sound quality of its spdif output compared to that of the essence stx in my PC transport.

 

[Shivam]

Any dealers where I can audition transports and compare them to the inexpensive transport (dvd player via digital out) that I am using? I have been told that upgrading my transport will help but I want to listen before spending any money.

 

[jls001]

Any dealers where I can audition transports and compare them to the inexpensive transport (dvd player via digital out) that I am using? I have been told that upgrading my transport will help but I want to listen before spending any money.

Have you tried entry level CD players? I used to have a Marantz CD6003. Just for a lark, I DIY-ed an S/PDIF coaxial cable and used the CD6003 as transport. It sounded quite good to my ears. The transport I compared to is a music PC that uses a sound card which is probably 2x the cost of the CD6003. But I must admit I have never tried the S/PDIF output of the sound card (AES/EBU used). Also, the DIY-ed S/PDIF cable is a very high grade coaxial cable rated to carry full HD, uncompressed bit rate of 3 Gbps in a video post production environment. Yes, it is a video cable of 75 Ohms characteristic impedance. The RCAs are REANs. I understand that some cable naysayers may be angered by this, but I would still like to write about it because a cable rated to carry regular IF signal (circa @ 75 MHz, and may be 30-50 Mbps throughput) is not the same as a similar cable rated to have a throughput of 3 Gbps.

I have read that vintage Marantz CD players like the CD63 have excellent transport. May be you should hunt it down. Or try something modern like a CD5003/4 or CD6003/4. Or try a Shigaclone if you can find it.

 

[Santy]

I use CA 640C V2 as a transport and it is marginally better than my HTPC.
It uses a very good Sony servo disc mechanism.
I prefer its coaxial than optical out.

 

[arj]

I have read that vintage Marantz CD players like the CD63 have excellent transport. May be you should hunt it down. Or try something modern like a CD5003/4 or CD6003/4.

the vintage CD 63 was great because it allowed itself to Modding very easily. the simplest results were available by damping the overall case with Caulk /cork and the underside of the tray with Blutac.
later on the clock and Op amp upgrades took it to a new level.

the newer ones are not so amenable i believe.

 

[koushik]

As it is for transport I think you should go a tad up and consider a Teac VRDS 7 or something like that.

 

[Nikhil]

Shivam,

The AP Transport is a serious transport. Siva also uses the CD-PRO2 module.
Couple it with the AP DAC and you will be set.

Regards.

 

[jls001]

Shivam,

The AP Transport is a serious transport. Siva also uses the CD-PRO2 module.

That's a very fine transport.

 

[Shivam]

Shivam,

The AP Transport is a serious transport. Siva also uses the CD-PRO2 module.
Couple it with the AP DAC and you will be set.

Regards.

Any idea about the cost of the transport. You can pm me if you want.

 

[reignofchaos]

The only two good transports currently in production are Teac/Esoteric VRDS and the transport from the Austrian company Stream Unlimited. In most boutique CD players you'll find either of the two. There are still a lot of NOS Philips CD Pro2 kits out in the open so many players have that as well. However they are terribly expensive.

Basically choose a well implemented version of either of these and you'll have a fine disc spinner. Everything else in the market is basically trash.

 

[linuxguru]

I use a Technics SL-P999 player with both TOSlink and Analog (RCA) Audio out. The tray eject mechanism and spindle motor electronics are prone to problems with age, but the laser pickup (SOAD-70A) is generally bulletproof and never skips, thanks to its linear-motor (*not* stepper motor worm-drive) driven sled, and linear sliding potentiometer-based sled-position sensor (it's still finicky in dusty conditions, but can easily be disassembled and cleaned).

The only issue is that spare SOAD-70A pickups are unobtainium new (Matsushita discontinued it over a decade ago), so the only source now is to buy reconditioned ones off EBay, where prices are in the stratosphere. Luckily, some low-end Technics CD players (like the SL-PJ27) also used the SOAD-70A, so there will be supply for some more years from the used market.

On a related note, does anybody have a reliable source for the Technics AN8377N motor-driver IC, preferably in Chennai? Mine is running fine now, but since it's a potential future source of failure, I'd prefer to stockpile a few spares now, rather than later when I might need it. It's widely used in a large number of transports from Matsushita, usually as the spindle- and sled-motor driver.