CD Transport / Player Thread

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by MoatsArt, Oct 18, 2016.

  1. sheldaze

    sheldaze Friend

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    This is my dedicated transport - I have used it with Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil. I did have an issue with Gungnir Multibit because it would lose the audio rate (the click sound) if I switched tracks manually or stop-started (paused and continued playback of) the music. I have no issue with Yggdrasil. The sound is wonderful. I share the sentiments above, that Gen5 is very close. This is still my baseline for the foreseeable future.
     
  2. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    So my Toshiba came in. I was enjoying it for all of 3 CDs when a loud rattling sound started. Opened it up, best that I can tell is the big plastic tray thing that moves the laser up and down is rattling against something.

    Tried using electrical tape to dampen some areas of contact but no luck.

    Are there even shops around anymore that would be able to take this apart and fix it? At this point I can either take a loss on this or find some way to fix it.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2017
  3. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    Mass loaded the shit out of the mechanism that moves the laser up and down.

    No more rattle. Guess spending hours fixing stuff is par for the course when buying 20 year old gear. Worth it though vs spending considerably more for another player.

    I'll post some comparisons to my digital-Eitr chain after more time with it.
     
  4. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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  5. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    $150 isn't bad if it's in pristine cond. I had one about 10-11 years ago. The CD67SE can be modded to the wazoo and the transport mechanism is pretty robust, if you're into the mod thing. More of a 'sins of omission' sound, but considering most mid-priced players sounded like ass back then, the CD67SE was generally well regarded. directly compared it to/was replaced by an old Shanling CD-S100 with BB OPA-627s that resolved better, and better HF extension, in my system at the time. If you're just using it as a transport, like I said, the mech will last a while and I think you might still be able to get the Phillips mechanism/laser pickup. Offer $100 and see if they'll bite?
     
  6. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    Yeah, I'm looking purely for a transport to use via Bifrost Multibit/Valhalla 2.

    I've been trying to find a local deal, but the pickings are slim.
     
  7. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

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    As a transport, I'd say at $100 it's a good deal. Pretty easy to turn back around on eBay, too.
     
  8. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Seconded. My CD63 Mk II (same mechanism, CDM 12.1; currently used as a transport to Modi Multibit) has been running since 1996 without trouble. If you can get it for $100, great.
     
  9. Dotard

    Dotard Acquaintance

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    I'm curious if anyone from this crowd got any listening time with the new Chord Blu2 transport. Would love to hear some listening impressions from members of this crowd.
     
  10. Boops

    Boops Friend

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    [​IMG]

    I picked up a Cambridge Audio CXC CD transport and thought I’d add a few comments. Rather than going the used route, I was interested in buying a new player with a warranty and liked the clean, understated look of the CXC. Other positives for me:

    + Strictly a CD transport without an integrated DAC which I wouldn’t need
    + Only plays CDs and is theoretically optimized for that speed
    + Uses the same mechanism as Cambridge’s flagship CD player which is 4x the price of the CXC (although unlike the CXC, it includes a DAC)

    Does the above translate to better sound quality? I haven’t had the chance to compare the CXC to any of the other players/transports in the thread, so I can’t say. I did compare it to the Gen-5 USB in my Gungnir Multibit, and compared to USB, the CXC has better plankton, microdetail and a larger and more nuanced soundstage.

    The advantages are most audible on recordings of acoustic instruments in real spaces. The CXC does a better job of reproducing the size/shape/resonances of the instruments, percussion especially, and the various spatial cues that let you “hear” the shape of a particular venue. You can also more easily hear very fine details like the strings in a strummed chord sounding individually, separated by milliseconds.

    For a specific example, I was listening to Manara by Alsarah and the Nubatones (highly recommended) and there’s a shaker-type instrument on track 13 that on CD sounds like seeds rattling around inside a void. This is less obvious on USB, where it sounds like it could be a maraca or one of those silver bead wrapped hand instruments or some other kind of small percussion instrument. There’s just not enough detail to tell exactly what it is. I made a note of this difference but didn’t bother to check. A few days later, I happened to be watching an appearance by the band on NPR’s tiny desk concert series and saw video of the percussionist shaking what looks like a mason jar with seeds in it. Too cool.

    Overall, it’s not a large difference. I’m happy with Gungnir Multibit’s Gen-5 USB, but I’ve come to really appreciate the small enhancements CD offers and when I have the option, I listen to the disc.

    Next steps: I have some extra Dynamat lying around and would be interested in exploring some mass loading/damping options. Which parts of the chassis should I be trying to add dynamat to? Appreciate any insights here.


    Little things that I like a lot:
    1. The tray is deep and solid.
    When you put a disc in, you have absolute confidence it’s in the right spot and isn’t sitting half on the lip or on top of some protruding tab. Compare the CXC’s tray on the left of the image below with the tray of an LG blu-ray burner on the right. The CXC tray is very good! This is the kind of small thing that I really appreciate with repeated, daily use.

    [​IMG]

    2. The input/output labels on the back are printed both right-side-up and upside-down so you can read them when you are bending over the top of the player from above trying to plug a cable in. Very nice.

    [​IMG]


    A small annoyance:
    Pausing the disc triggers Gungnir Multibit’s muting relay intermittently, causing repeated clicking. Nothing really to do about this according to Schiit’s FAQ. Not a huge deal, but annoying.


    Chain notes:
    The CXC was connected to Gungnir Multibit with a Blue Jeans coax cable. USB was Apple Lossless rips in iTunes on a Mac Pro connected to Gungnir Multibit with a Schiit Pyst USB cable. Amp was EC BW2. Headphones were HD650 stock and Utopia.
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2019
  11. mrflibble

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    For Christmas, I bought my Mother a second hand Rotel RCD-855. It has a TDA1541A DAC and S/PDIF output so that it can be used just as a transport.

    Before handing it over, I very briefly tested it as a transport versus Gen 5 USB on the Gungnir Multibit. Comparison was as follows:

    FLAC CD Rip (Bit Perfect Playback) -> Atlas Element sc USB -> Gen 5 USB Gungnir Multibit -> Vali 2 -> HD650
    Rotel RCD-855 -> Belden 1694A S/PDIF -> BNC Gungnir Multibit -> HD650

    I primarily used Roxette, Look Sharp! album for the comparison, but also the odd other track from other CD's. The sound when playing back a CD on the Rotel seemed to be slightly veiled in comparison to Gen 5 USB with less resolution and clarity. The Rotel sound seemed to have greater body, whether this was real or an artefact of the veil I'm not sure - I did not listen for long enough. The Gen 5 USB, in comparison, had a thinner more precise sound.

    The Rotel CD player is a nice bit of equipment, it goes well with my Mother's vintage Hi-Fi.
     
  12. Bacobits

    Bacobits New

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    I have been using a Cambridge CXC Trans for 2 years now. It is very good and beat my Marantz SA14S2 (25#) I had been using which was a waste as a transport to the Yiggy. The CXC is light at 12# so I use Herbies Super Sonic stabilizers (4) on the top of the player with large tender feet under. Works fine here. I use an optical Lifatec cable or a Wywires Litespeed cable to SPDIF coax. Absolutly no clicking anywhere in either wired combination. You can use both and switch between them to hear differences if you must.
    I did not want to open the player for sound dampening material. I will go with the Gen5 board eventually but USB it not my primary sound source at the moment and probably won't be.
     
  13. Druid

    Druid Hyperactive Tree

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    I had a similar experience recently with a Denon DVD-2900 coax to Sonic Frontiers SFD-2. Compared to coax out from PC's ASUS Xonar sound card it just sounded soft/veiled and not as engaging. Now I have a Lynx E22 -> AES/EBU -> SFD-2 which sounds even more clean than the Xonar and just as dynamic. I'm very curious how a Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 CD Transport would sound with this DAC, but I'm not willing to spend $1000 bucks just to find out. I will keep my eyes peeled to see if I can find a steal on a proven CD Transport though.
     
  14. StefanAC

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    It's great to see that there is still life in the humble old CD! For critical listening, I prefer a CD transport over all computer sources I've tried until today. No DDC fed from my MacBook Pro and no streamer's digital out (Linn Majik DS/1 etc.) sounded as good as my Wadia WT 3200. But I have to admit that I haven't tried a Lynx or RedNet device!

    Instead of the ubiquitous DVD transports or cheap CDPs, I would propose to try a Philips CDM1 based solution instead. I have great experiences with either the Philips CD-304 MKII or the Marantz CD-94 based players, preferably modded. Those CDPs are insanely reliable and sound great. The only CD transport I tried which was equally as good was a CEC TL-1, also modded. But as with everything in audio, YMMV.
     
    Last edited: Feb 21, 2018
  15. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Say I had $300 to spend on a CD player. Which of these would you recommend based solely on sound quality?

    -$300 standalone CD player (Emotiva CD-100)
    -$50 DVD player + $250 DAC (sony player + Modi MB)
     
  16. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I would say the $50 DVD player and Modi MB. Not sure what chips are in the Emotiva, but I hear their DAC's are quite on the bright side.
     
  17. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    DAC in the Emotiva is a Cirrus 4398. I second @rtaylor76 ; I have essentially zero experience judging SQ from different transports, but I'd suspect the multibitness in the Modi Multibit would have more effect.

    Are you open to the alternative of a second-hand CDP to feed the Modi Multibit? That might have a more solid transport than a cheap DVD player.
     
  18. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    I've been looking for a good cd transport to feed into my Bifrost for AGES.

    I struggle finding good used options locally. They're either overpriced or crappy units.

    And, admittedly, part of it is lack of diligence in searching. I'll look every day for a week and get frustrated when nothing great pops up.
     
  19. Mystic

    Mystic Mystique's Spiritual Advisor

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    http://tmraudio.com/

    Check here periodically. They sell used CD players and get some good ones in from time to time. They charge a flat rate for shipping. I got my Toshiba SD 9200 for $79 from them in mint condition last year, which is a solid player.
     
  20. gaspasser

    gaspasser Flatulence Maestro

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    However, my experience with them was odd. I bought a $250 Denon CDP that when used with Gungnir Multibit, tripped the buy-better-gear light. I inquired about it and they told me all they do is check and make sure the CDP works when they sell it. They offered no recourse, not even an apology. So my advice is be careful when buying older CDPs and don’t expect anything from TMR.
     

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