I thought I'd share my experience with CD transports, which may be of use to others. First some details of my setup:
DAC: Lampizator level 3 (gen 3)
Amplifier: Rethm Gaanam
Speakers: Rethm Saadhana v1
Cables: ICs and speaker cables are Rethm, digital cable is Black Cat Veloce. Power cables are a mish mash of Einstein, XLO and some generic ones.
My transport journey has been all over the place. The first transport I used with the Lampizator was a cheap and cheerful Nad C515. Even with this, the Lampizator was so far ahead of anything else that I heard that I was satisfied. However, I knew that the DAC deserved something better so managed to convince Dr.Bass to part with his beloved Teac. Unfortunately, the CDP was lying in Bangalore for over a year before I could finally pick it up. In the meantime I used the Yamaha CD-S2000 and a Goldenote Stibbert as transports. My observations on the various transports:
Nad vs Yamaha: the Yamaha is a very solidly built machine and was an all-round pleasure to use. Sonically, it had a bit more resolution and a slightly more spread out soundstage.
Yamaha vs Goldenote: I honestly cant make out the difference. Maybe some minor changes but nothing I would say with conviction.
Goldenote vs Teac VRDS 10: a very noticeable improvement in the resolution and impact of the bass. Also a more airy and precise soundstage. These were immediately apparent on the first CD. Subsequent listening also shows more resolution - not in your face but suddenly noticing something extra in very familiar recordings.
I also has a dedicated music PC which outputs SPDIF through an E-MU 1212m sound card -> monarchy audio DIP classic (reclocker) -> Lampizator. To me, the same CD ripped into the pc using EAC and played back through Foobar doesnt sound as good as a good CD transport. Maybe the same level as the Nad - not sure though. I suspect that the gap could be narrowed and perhaps even closed through a more optimised pc setup (maybe an off ramp or Art Legato). However, given that I have a lot of CDs and quite enjoy listening to them, I'm in no hurry to pursue this.
p.s. a special thanks to Dr. Bass for letting me have the Teac
p.p.s. I also have a Lampizator kit which fits a tubed digital output on CD transport. May experiment with this at some point on a backup cd transport (maybe the NAD)
DAC: Lampizator level 3 (gen 3)
Amplifier: Rethm Gaanam
Speakers: Rethm Saadhana v1
Cables: ICs and speaker cables are Rethm, digital cable is Black Cat Veloce. Power cables are a mish mash of Einstein, XLO and some generic ones.
My transport journey has been all over the place. The first transport I used with the Lampizator was a cheap and cheerful Nad C515. Even with this, the Lampizator was so far ahead of anything else that I heard that I was satisfied. However, I knew that the DAC deserved something better so managed to convince Dr.Bass to part with his beloved Teac. Unfortunately, the CDP was lying in Bangalore for over a year before I could finally pick it up. In the meantime I used the Yamaha CD-S2000 and a Goldenote Stibbert as transports. My observations on the various transports:
Nad vs Yamaha: the Yamaha is a very solidly built machine and was an all-round pleasure to use. Sonically, it had a bit more resolution and a slightly more spread out soundstage.
Yamaha vs Goldenote: I honestly cant make out the difference. Maybe some minor changes but nothing I would say with conviction.
Goldenote vs Teac VRDS 10: a very noticeable improvement in the resolution and impact of the bass. Also a more airy and precise soundstage. These were immediately apparent on the first CD. Subsequent listening also shows more resolution - not in your face but suddenly noticing something extra in very familiar recordings.
I also has a dedicated music PC which outputs SPDIF through an E-MU 1212m sound card -> monarchy audio DIP classic (reclocker) -> Lampizator. To me, the same CD ripped into the pc using EAC and played back through Foobar doesnt sound as good as a good CD transport. Maybe the same level as the Nad - not sure though. I suspect that the gap could be narrowed and perhaps even closed through a more optimised pc setup (maybe an off ramp or Art Legato). However, given that I have a lot of CDs and quite enjoy listening to them, I'm in no hurry to pursue this.
p.s. a special thanks to Dr. Bass for letting me have the Teac
p.p.s. I also have a Lampizator kit which fits a tubed digital output on CD transport. May experiment with this at some point on a backup cd transport (maybe the NAD)
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