swt61
Dr. Wood
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2005
- Posts
- 5,308
- Likes
- 27
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
Balanced β22 headphone amplifier
Balanced Twisted Pear Audio Opus DAC w/Zapfilter MkII discrete output stage
Heavily modded and balanced AKG K340
Balanced custom woody orthodynamic “Chocolate Donut MkII”
Balanced AKG K240 Sextett
Warrior05 custom Belden Power Cables
Looser101 custom coaxial digital cable
MEET THE NEW KID:
After a little bit of a scare with my FedEx driver delivering my new toy to the wrong address, today I have the unit in hand, and hooked up to my system. The unit I’m speaking of is a HiFiDIY CD Transport built from a kit by our own n_maher. The kit comes from the Chinese Co. HiFiDIY, and is $400.00 shipped. Nate did a fantastic job building this kit. Fit and finish is top notch, and the overall look and feel is that of a unit selling for $3000.00 -$4000.00, not the bargain basement price these units can actually be purchased for. Saying that Nate’s work was top notch is no surprise to many of you who have seen his work, however with the problems he had with customs not securing the parts packaging after opening them for inspection, and several small fasteners falling out of the box in transit, it’s amazing he was able to sort it out so well. There was no bill of materials, so figuring out what was there, and what was missing must have been an exhausting endeavor. The instructions left a lot to be desired as well, and this is all documented in this thread…
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/cd-...-heard-250864/
I had been eyeing this transport since seeing it on the HiFiDIY web site. Once I discovered Nate was selling his I was disappointed that the timing just wasn’t conducive to me purchasing it from him. Then later Thrice put the same unit up for sale, and again the timing was bad.
Last week I put my custom DT990s up for sale, and listed that I’d be interested in a few headphone trades, but that I didn’t need any other gear. Well the first reply I received offered a trade for a CD transport, and I was ready to reply in the negative when I read further that the transport was built by n_maher. I figured it was kismet, and after a few back and forths, we had secured a trade.
THE COMPETITION:
I already own a quite well thought of CD Transport called the “Lambda”, built by PS Audio. This unit was discontinued some years back, but has somewhat of a cult following. The unit originally retailed for about $2,200.00. The Lambda is known to outperform many more expensive transports. The only issue they had was the tray gear that wore out after time. Mine has been replaced with a lifetime gear, as have many Lambdas still in service. I’ve been quite impressed with the Lambda, and had no real need to replace it, but something about the HiFiDIY unit just got my taste buds salivating, so I decided to try it out.
BUILD QUALITY:
Both units are quite solid in construction. The Lambda has a 5/16” faceplate milled of solid billet aluminum, and a one piece steal cover. At 17” wide, 15 ¼” deep and 3” tall, it’s a large unit, deeper than even my PS Audio PCA-2 preamp. The HiFiDIY transport is about half the footprint of the Lambda at 10” wide, 14”deep and 3” tall. It’s a top loading unit, where the Lambda is a more traditional drawer loading unit. It has a faceplate ¼” thick, and also milled of solid billet aluminum. Where the Lambda has a steal cover however, the HiFiDIY uses solid aluminum slabs to make up all the panels of the chassis, most of which are over 1/8” thick. Both units are heavyweights weighing in at over 20lbs. Both units impart a sense of quality, and both are rather handsome.
LISTENING:
I’ve had no trouble proclaiming the Lambda the clear winner over many less note worthy transports I’ve tested it against. It just seems to do everything better, dynamics, imaging, bass and that overall elusive quality of musicality.
I put both units through their paces with a broad range of CDs, and try as I might I just couldn’t find any audible differences. I thought for a moment that I heard a very slight addition of bass authority on Michael Buble’s “Summer Wind” with the HiFiDIY, but after several more auditions I came to the conclusion that they were actually quite equal.
That leaves me with a rather boring conclusion to my review, but also a very nice one. As I’ve stated the Lambda has surpassed many players costing several thousands of dollars.
So it’s time to find another new home for the HiFiDIY unit you say, well not so quickly. The overall solid aluminum look of the HiFiDIY is very appealing to me. Also the fact that it’s 1 ¼” shorter makes it easier to move my rack closer to the wall once the fat, stiff power cords I use are in place. The remote for the HiFiDIY is milled from a solid piece of aluminum, and I find it to be much smaller and more comfortable than the Philips touch screen universal remote I use for the Lambda, since the Lambda remote was lost before I purchased the unit. On a side note, I did notice that the remote for the HiFiDIY also controls every function on the Lambda. I imagine they sourced a similar transport for the HiFiDIY (this could also be the reason I found virtually no difference in SQ between the two units). If it’s possible to order a replacement remote from HiFiDIY, this could be good news for Lambda owners who’ve lost their remote along the way.
So I’ve decided to keep the HiFiDIY transport. It just looks the business, and the smaller form factor looks good with my other equipment. The top loading design also means there’s less moving parts to wear out.
Balanced β22 headphone amplifier
Balanced Twisted Pear Audio Opus DAC w/Zapfilter MkII discrete output stage
Heavily modded and balanced AKG K340
Balanced custom woody orthodynamic “Chocolate Donut MkII”
Balanced AKG K240 Sextett
Warrior05 custom Belden Power Cables
Looser101 custom coaxial digital cable
MEET THE NEW KID:
After a little bit of a scare with my FedEx driver delivering my new toy to the wrong address, today I have the unit in hand, and hooked up to my system. The unit I’m speaking of is a HiFiDIY CD Transport built from a kit by our own n_maher. The kit comes from the Chinese Co. HiFiDIY, and is $400.00 shipped. Nate did a fantastic job building this kit. Fit and finish is top notch, and the overall look and feel is that of a unit selling for $3000.00 -$4000.00, not the bargain basement price these units can actually be purchased for. Saying that Nate’s work was top notch is no surprise to many of you who have seen his work, however with the problems he had with customs not securing the parts packaging after opening them for inspection, and several small fasteners falling out of the box in transit, it’s amazing he was able to sort it out so well. There was no bill of materials, so figuring out what was there, and what was missing must have been an exhausting endeavor. The instructions left a lot to be desired as well, and this is all documented in this thread…
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/cd-...-heard-250864/
I had been eyeing this transport since seeing it on the HiFiDIY web site. Once I discovered Nate was selling his I was disappointed that the timing just wasn’t conducive to me purchasing it from him. Then later Thrice put the same unit up for sale, and again the timing was bad.
Last week I put my custom DT990s up for sale, and listed that I’d be interested in a few headphone trades, but that I didn’t need any other gear. Well the first reply I received offered a trade for a CD transport, and I was ready to reply in the negative when I read further that the transport was built by n_maher. I figured it was kismet, and after a few back and forths, we had secured a trade.
THE COMPETITION:
I already own a quite well thought of CD Transport called the “Lambda”, built by PS Audio. This unit was discontinued some years back, but has somewhat of a cult following. The unit originally retailed for about $2,200.00. The Lambda is known to outperform many more expensive transports. The only issue they had was the tray gear that wore out after time. Mine has been replaced with a lifetime gear, as have many Lambdas still in service. I’ve been quite impressed with the Lambda, and had no real need to replace it, but something about the HiFiDIY unit just got my taste buds salivating, so I decided to try it out.
BUILD QUALITY:
Both units are quite solid in construction. The Lambda has a 5/16” faceplate milled of solid billet aluminum, and a one piece steal cover. At 17” wide, 15 ¼” deep and 3” tall, it’s a large unit, deeper than even my PS Audio PCA-2 preamp. The HiFiDIY transport is about half the footprint of the Lambda at 10” wide, 14”deep and 3” tall. It’s a top loading unit, where the Lambda is a more traditional drawer loading unit. It has a faceplate ¼” thick, and also milled of solid billet aluminum. Where the Lambda has a steal cover however, the HiFiDIY uses solid aluminum slabs to make up all the panels of the chassis, most of which are over 1/8” thick. Both units are heavyweights weighing in at over 20lbs. Both units impart a sense of quality, and both are rather handsome.
LISTENING:
I’ve had no trouble proclaiming the Lambda the clear winner over many less note worthy transports I’ve tested it against. It just seems to do everything better, dynamics, imaging, bass and that overall elusive quality of musicality.
I put both units through their paces with a broad range of CDs, and try as I might I just couldn’t find any audible differences. I thought for a moment that I heard a very slight addition of bass authority on Michael Buble’s “Summer Wind” with the HiFiDIY, but after several more auditions I came to the conclusion that they were actually quite equal.
That leaves me with a rather boring conclusion to my review, but also a very nice one. As I’ve stated the Lambda has surpassed many players costing several thousands of dollars.
So it’s time to find another new home for the HiFiDIY unit you say, well not so quickly. The overall solid aluminum look of the HiFiDIY is very appealing to me. Also the fact that it’s 1 ¼” shorter makes it easier to move my rack closer to the wall once the fat, stiff power cords I use are in place. The remote for the HiFiDIY is milled from a solid piece of aluminum, and I find it to be much smaller and more comfortable than the Philips touch screen universal remote I use for the Lambda, since the Lambda remote was lost before I purchased the unit. On a side note, I did notice that the remote for the HiFiDIY also controls every function on the Lambda. I imagine they sourced a similar transport for the HiFiDIY (this could also be the reason I found virtually no difference in SQ between the two units). If it’s possible to order a replacement remote from HiFiDIY, this could be good news for Lambda owners who’ve lost their remote along the way.
So I’ve decided to keep the HiFiDIY transport. It just looks the business, and the smaller form factor looks good with my other equipment. The top loading design also means there’s less moving parts to wear out.
