[shaizada]

Dear folks,

Recently, I've been looking for a CD transport to go with an outboard dac. I just wanted to get a feeler for what I should be looking for. I'm looking for a very stable platter that can faithfully extract the bits off a redbook disc. I don't need any fancy upconversion. Just a nice low jitter solution.

At the same time, I'm also looking for a reclocking, jitter eliminating device that can go between the optical out of my Macbook pro and my DAC. Please let me know if you've had experiences with such a device. (i.e. Empirical Audio USB Offramp 2 or anything else).

Thanks in advance for any help!

~G

 

[Kevin Sinnott]

I've recently been attempting to match a transport with my Ack dAck! DAC. Since this DAC is non-oversampling, and does not reclock, the matching of transports makes quite an audible difference. I tried various cd players I owned, plus I auditioned a number of used transports from a local retailer. I found that regardless of a unit's reputation, an audition and your own ears are necessary to discover the most synergistic combination.

I chose a Kinergetics transport over a Meridian, but I caution you to test for yourself, as I know other people who've been very satisfied with Meridian. I have also been told that a jitter measurement is not alone a competent indicator of potential success.

In the end, I finally decided to purchase a belt-driven C.E.C. transport, but if you are reclocking and using a different DAC, not to mention a reclocking device, you might get very different results.

Perhaps the most significant testimony I can offer is the significant difference between various transports with my DAC. Frankly, my expectation was that the DAC, not the transport would be the main factor, but my tests have shown me otherwise.

This might be due to the non-oversampling non-reclocking method of digital to analogue conversion, or it might be more pronounced using an N.O.S. DAC.

Hope this helps.

 

[edstrelow]

For what it's worth, I second the CEC transport. When my old CEC broke down, I tried several different cdp players using them as transports and could not get the smoothness and solid bass of the CEC. So I paid the repair costs to get the CEC back in operation.

 

[shaizada]

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I am also considering the Sony SCD-1 and CDP-X777es for transport duties. I will read more into the CEC transports as well. Seems like a solid recommendation.

I hope others chime in as well

 

[mikeliao]

The mechnical aspects of the transport (vibration, speed stability, durability, etc.) and the laser are the major points to look at. Not that many laser manufactures exist, so its really down to mechnical construction. There's not that many mass manufacturers (mostly Phillips in the CDM 7II and the PRO2), a few custom transports manufacturers (but rather expensive).

CD-ROM drives make for pretty good transports too. Just waiting for manufacturer to make an error correcting, buffered CDP off a CD-ROM drive.

I use a CEC TL51XR and an old CAL Delta for transports. Also use a CD-ROM kit from http://eshop.diyclub.biz. CEC has a new CDP just recently out, the TL53Z. Besides a smaller form factor, the belt drive transport has been rumored to been further tweaked.

The CEC (through off board dacs) buts put a consistantly better sound than the CAL Delta and CD-ROM kit. For 10x the price of the others, it'd better.

Not seen any dedicated reclocking devices, but some dacs do reclock and output digital. Kinda silly for your application though.

 

[soloz2]

I've been very happy with my Marantz CD5001