[PleasantNoise]

Hi all, I'm in the market for a cd player, or cd transport for my heaphone rig (old one died)
Ideally I want something small, to pair with a schiit magni, or magni-modi combo.
And I had a thought, is it possible to use an apple superdrive as a cd transport plugged straight into the modi (usb equipped obviously)
Or am I being totally stupid.....
If not, does anyone know of any cheap, small, well made cd transports?

 

[K_19]

Quote:

Hi all, I'm in the market for a cd player, or cd transport for my heaphone rig (old one died)
Ideally I want something small, to pair with a schiit magni, or magni-modi combo.
And I had a thought, is it possible to use an apple superdrive as a cd transport plugged straight into the modi (usb equipped obviously)
Or am I being totally stupid.....
If not, does anyone know of any cheap, small, well made cd transports?

 
Superdrive is just an external drive, and it won't have a mind of its own to do the processing itself.. not to mention that it doesn't have any external control on it (play/stop/skip etc).  Connected to a matching Macbook Air or a netbook or something like that, sure it can work, but just the superdrive itself, no.
 
Your best solution if saving space is a priority, is perhaps a older portable CD players with an line/optical out. Then you can connect that with Magni/Modi.  If space isn't a concern then you can maybe look for a vintage CD player... I was able to buy a Cambridge D500SE for only $70 at my local Hifi store and it works well as a transport.

 

[brhfl]

I was looking for a while to see if there were any high quality transports that doubled as external computer optical drives. No dice, as I completely expected, so probably don't hunt that unicorn. If you're looking for small and affordable, might try the Pro-Ject CD Box. I've not heard one myself, but I've heard they're quite fine for the price. And I don't think you're going to find much smaller.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

 
Your best solution if saving space is a priority, is perhaps a older portable CD players with an line/optical out. Then you can connect that with Magni/Modi.  If space isn't a concern then you can maybe look for a vintage CD player... I was able to buy a Cambridge D500SE for only $70 at my local Hifi store and it works well as a transport.

 
Modi only has USB input.
 
Quote:

If not, does anyone know of any cheap, small, well made cd transports?

 
Shanling PCD300A - around $299 on eBay I think, might be less
 
Little Dot CD 1 - around the same price, transport only
 
Pro-Ject CD Box - A bit more expensive but I like the chassis, I think an older or entry-level version had a Non-OS 16bit DAC ; kinda hard to find online dealers though, the other two were easy on eBay, but given the feedback on the build quality I'd choose this over the other two, the LD a close second. The Shanling just looks too much like an external drive by comparison if the matched headphone amp wasn't next to or on top of it.
 
Don't know any more cheap, compact CDPs/transports but for top-loaders, Rega has the Apollo-R and and Bel Canto has a transport.

 

[brhfl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProtegeManiac /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Pro-Ject CD Box - A bit more expensive but I like the chassis, I think an older or entry-level version had a Non-OS 16bit DAC ; kinda hard to find online dealers though [...]

Not sure where OP is located, but Needle Doctor carries the CD Box. The newer 'S' version, which actually has a digital out (I wouldn't consider the older version a transport). They also carry the slightly more expensive Napa NCD208, which is also well reviewed for its price and has a small footprint. I don't think you'll find anything that will offer a USB output for your Modi, unfortunately.

 

[PleasantNoise]

Thanks guys, I wrote this while very tired, sorta realised how unreasonable it was when I woke up...
I don't yet have a modi, it was just a thought, so a cd player at the right price is fine, pro-ject cd box looks interesting, I'm actually located in new zealand, so getting anything tends to be a bit of a mission...