Hi all,
I just came across a video where the tester mentioned that all CD transporter (connected via SPDIF) sound almost the same.
On another review I could read that a tester found massive differences SQ wise btw. an Accuphase CD player used as transport vs a cheaper CD player (Sony).
I know some members here have CDT- did you benchmark these?
Thanks!!
Transports do make a difference. I can only imagine that any reviewer who thinks that they all sound the same must have limited discrimination though whether that be personal or caused by the ancillary equipment or both is not known.
Of course the dCS transports are SACD/CD ones and to function with dCS DACs dual AES/EBU outputs are required.
The dCS transports, whilst sounding as good as you can get on all grounds, are also very expensive and, although better then anything else that I have heard, seem like they may not be appropriate for your needs as you are thinking of cheaper players and only with CD capability.
All I can say is that you will get some sort of sound out of anything having an S/Pdif port. I expect that you are mainly looking at the used market as many manufacturers ( such as Sony) have pulled out of this sector. When searching also check on spares availability especially OPUs which will require replacement at some point. This may rule out many otherwise good transports or you will be left with a doorstop one day.
There is a small upturn in CD availability going on and some current models now exist e.g Schiit. However their sonic attainment is unknown to me.
Thanks Pete,
that’s a good info!
I’m using an’ old Pioneer via SPDIF coax out attached to my Rossini. Just thought to improve that and you confirmed that there is plenty of room to do so ;-)…and AES is the way to go!
For a brief while I used to own a Classé Audio CDT-1 Transport at the same time that I had my Vivaldi Transport. There was clearly a difference between them for redbook playback, especially when taken direct to the DAC, and minimised when put through the Upsampler.
It wasn’t an apples-to-aaples set-up though as the CDT-1 was always synchronised via its AES output while the Vivaldi was synchronised to my dCS Clock.
The difference was likely due to jitter performance and not disc read errors (C1/C2/CU). I know this for a fact as in those days I often used the CDT-1 for dCS firmware updates and there was never any errors (back when dCS used to distribute firmware on discs, prior to supporting updates over the Internet).
In any case, bottomline is that even a cheap Transport will give you error-free disc reads, but be carful of jitter performance. The one thing I should have tried (but can’t recall testing) is with the DAC’s Buffer setting on/off to compare.
I could use a bit of help here with regards to transports. I owned a Sonic Frontiers transport for a while - sounded good but not as good as rips. I suspect it has to do with not being able to sync with my Rossini clock. I sold the SF - it was large esp. with a down size looming and I found I wasn’t using it.
However I would consider a discrete half rack unit for occasional use. I came across this Shanling cr 60 which offers a USB asynchronous output, which would allow it to be used with my clock (I think?)
Any thoughts on this type of approach?
I am using a ProJect CD Box RS2 T directly into my Vivaldi Upsampler. It is a half width top loader. Highly recommended
Where did you read that it’s an asynchronous USB output?
Shanling have been around for quite a while, they’re one of the pioneers of “ChiFi”, but hard to say how this thing will perform. For that price though, it’s almost worth a try.
Below is what Darko reported in his article - the USB-A out from a transport is kind of new to me, but it might be a good low-cost option for casual use. I’m not expecting miracles.
“New from Shanling: the CR60 is an all-new affordable CD transport with a TOSLINK, coaxial and – less common – USB-A digital output. The latter means two things: 1) the CR60 can send the CD’s digital stream out to a DAC kitted out with only a USB input, including many dongle DACS, and 2) any DAC with an asynchronous USB input will handle the digital signal’s clocking — not the CR60 itself.”
Oops, I missed that.
Apparently the Shanling ET3 does as well? This all new to me. It is the ability to utilize my clock in the mix that is most interesting
Unclear.
I briefly flipped through both their manuals, the CR60 clearly indicates that it’ll output USB Audio while in CD disc Transport mode (via the USB Type-A interface).
However there’s no such indication for the ET3. They uses the phrase “USB Drive Player”, to suggest plugging in a USB Stick with music into the Transport and it’ll lets you control playback of those tracks via the USB output to a DAC.
I think that I may well do just that…
I have 100’s of CD’s (which I’ve ripped) in storage boxes, but I haven’t actually spun a disc for a very long time.
I’ve also got an AQ Diamond USB cable, somewhere…
Let us know how it goes please. Looking forward to reading about your experience with it.
Will do.
I’m intrigued to hear how the CD will sound via USB, versus my ripped version…
i’ll likely purchase as well. Given the price and dual function of a transport and ripper with a USB a output - this is good value. Can’t figure out how to buy it yet however
please let us know your findings!!!
Ebay’s your best bet. Just pick one of the many Shanling retailers who has a good Ebay feedback rating.
I mentioned earlier that there is a small revival going on for CD. You haven’t given a budget but this is just out:
Not the cheapest option but very interesting and from an established source and much, much cheaper than a dCS.
Thanks Pete,
indeed, I already checked that one 
but it has no AES/EBU output afaik.
Understood. However why do you need AES/EBU?
You obviously will not need dual AES/EBU for CD, being a 16/44.1 source. Both S/Pdif and AES are AES3 protocols. So the only difference for this purpose is the CMRR noise rejection which would normally not be an issue with a sort run of cable in a typical domestic environment.
In fact I have connected my Rossini transport to Vivaldi comparing good S/Pdif with AES/EBU using cable from the same manufacturer from a similar range. I could make out no sonic difference at all.