State of Art CD Transports - not necessarily price-wise

[essrand]

I have been re-enjoying listening to CDs, not having to look at a glowing screen to play music. Not changing song after song just because I can. And so now looking for a nice CD transport.

Some googling seems to show that new upstarts are taking down the likes of Esoteric, CEC etc.

There's Jay's, Theres Project CDT, there's Denafrips Avatar.

On WBF I saw someone use a Denafrips Avatar transport with a MSB Select II.

So just wondering if any FMs have experience with CD transports and have kept up with the latest and greatest.

 

[naks]

yes i assume that streaming never comes equal to phsyical source. i am using an metronome transport tube dac and ext power supply

recently i acquired lite audio cd transport with i2s interface to connect with an i2s dac to compare it

and also dedicated cd transport will outperform any hi end cd player

 

[square_wave]

I have been seeing many folks using Jay's in their high end systems. Denafrips is new. Maybe it is good too. Best thing to do is to talk to someone who has used and compared a few of these in their systems. I saw a belcanto for sale on the forum.

 

[essrand]

I have been seeing many folks using Jay's in their high end systems. Denafrips is new. Maybe it is good too. Best thing to do is to talk to someone who has used and compared a few of these in their systems. I saw a belcanto for sale on the forum.

Exactly why I started this thread, to find "someone who has used and compared a few of these in their systems"

yes i assume that streaming never comes equal to phsyical source. i am using an metronome transport tube dac and ext power supply

recently i acquired lite audio cd transport with i2s interface to connect with an i2s dac to compare it

and also dedicated cd transport will outperform any hi end cd player

Nice! Metronome transport vs a Lite audio. That's interesting, any findings you can report?

 

[naks]

metronome sounds little bit bold.lite audio should compare not yet listened

 

[sydney]

Compared BelCanto CDT with an AudioNote CDT3 and the later is well ahead in terms of resolution smoothness and instruments sounding bolder. We they are also on 2 extremes of the price scale.

 

[IndianEars]

GREAT to see this discussion, essrand.

I too have been toying with buying a Good CD Transport.... however the middle of the road one did not seem to make sense to me as you can get a VERY Good Marantz CD Player for not too much more money....

I was not aware of Jay's, & Denafrips Avatar. Had a look, they are AWESOME !

The Denafrips with the built-in option to upsample is VERY, very attractive....

From what I understand from the few reviews I have read, Jays provides a warm full bodied sound, while the Avataar provides and expansive soundstage.

Any other views on their sonic signatures ?


Also does anyone know if the Mechanism used in this can be a drop in replacement for the older Philips mech ? That would be GREAT!

 

[naks]

GREAT to see this discussion, essrand.

I too have been toying with buying a Good CD Transport.... however the middle of the road one did not seem to make sense to me as you can get a VERY Good Marantz CD Player for not too much more money....

I was not aware of Jay's, & Denafrips Avatar. Had a look, they are AWESOME !

The Denafrips with the built-in option to upsample is VERY, very attractive....

From what I understand from the few reviews I have read, Jays provides a warm full bodied sound, while the Avataar provides and expansive soundstage.

Any other views on their sonic signatures ?


Also does anyone know if the Mechanism used in this can be a drop in replacement for the older Philips mech ? That would be GREAT!

hi i am using an lite audio lt one cd transport .its very good and musical compared with cyrus and belcanto cd transports. the sound is smooth and

superior. mid range is top notch. better try with i2s input dacs it beats cdtransports triple the price.

 

[IndianEars]

Is it available in India ?

Or did you import it from Ali Express some time ago ? (Im told cant import now from Ali Express)

 

[naks]

got it from italy.its a very good transport with i2s output with selectable 44 and 96khz sampling selection also

 

[essrand]

The new Pro-Ject transport has been getting raves in Audiogon (but I don't trust Agoners anymore), the distributor has sold quite a few in India, anyone here knows anyone who has one, or has anyone heard it.

 

[rsjaurr]

You can also consider Esoteric and dCS cd transports or cd players to use as transports. This will be a very expensive option though.

I would also recommend Marantz SA10 cd player and use it as transport. I'm using this way with great results.

 

[mekr]

There are not much reviews of sparkler audio ,Japan,but whatever I have read ,it is one of the very good transport cum CD player,what I remember it uses Teac mechanism,sparkler audio owner was designer of 77 labs ,CD transports & amplifier

 

[reignofchaos]

There are not much reviews of sparkler audio ,Japan,but whatever I have read ,it is one of the very good transport cum CD player,what I remember it uses Teac mechanism,sparkler audio owner was designer of 77 labs ,CD transports & amplifier

I assume you mean 47 labs? They made some incredible transports in their days.

 

[mekr]

There is another transport by Vicol ,,who started as DIY on the DIYaudio forum ,with Sanyo lasers & then started selling assembled transport

I assume you mean 47 labs? They made some incredible transports in their days.

Whichever reviewers have heard sparkler products ,at trade shows are wowed by the organic sound of their audio systems,they still use Philips TDA chips for DAC.
Yes it is not 77 labs ,it is 47 labs,thanks for correcting me

 

[arj]

Found a you tube review of transports !

 

[greenhorn]

From what i heard the shigaclone kits are still available if you know who to ask. The sfp 101 is available for next to nothing