New, Very Interesting CD Transport

Yesterday I was invited to see in the New Year, in the company of some of my local HiFi Group members, as well as supply a set of ears to assist with evaluations of a certain component exchange on a CDP and evaluate Two very similarly built Pre-Amp's, that have now evolved to one having TVC Volume Control and the other a Khozmo VC along with a few other bespoke components added to the circuit. c    .

Tube Rolling was the fundamental behind the get together.

An Audio Note CD2 was made available to be used for the Tube Rolling experience. The CD2 owner has been trying out the supplied Tube along with a recent acquired Vintage Amperex. Both produced a sonic that was able to be lived with, with the Amperex having the effect that was least attractive to myself, I was on y own on that as the evaluation.

The Pre's were added to be used with each of these Tubes, there was enough going on with the sonic to show the impact the Pre-Amp's selected topology could create. The assessment which was unanimous was that each of the Pre's was at their best with a different Tube upstream.   

Next up were a selection of loaned Tubes specially selected for this experience.

The loaned Tubes to be used were all tested and measured showing each being above the Factory Spec' for each Tube. The Period of production for the Tubes ranged from Mid 50's through to Late 60's. 

First used for this Tube Roll has been a quite expensive in todays money early 60's version, the introduction of this used with Khozmo VC Pre-Amp' blew all attendees away.

The follow Up tube being a Mid 50's Tube and one that can be found for approx' 70% cheaper than the previous used 60's Tube, again blew all attendees away. This tube begged for both Pre's to be tried with it in use, and both Pre's were amply rewarded for the sonic being produced with this Tube used upstream. 

My overall evaluation was quite simple, where I stated not even AN know the quality the CD2 is able to produce.

To gauge the CD2 in use with the Mid 50's Tube the next period was with a £4K CDP in use which has been Tube Rolled and selections made with a lot longer period allowed for evaluations.

The CD2, even though not as impressive overall as the £4K CDP, had plenty on offer to strongly suggest it was something quite special. 

The Tubes were no longer a case of how long one could be lived with, it was now a case of how long could one of the Vintage options be lived without.

The impression made was so good, other selected Tubes to be trialed, were not tried out.    

Relevance to this thread, pindac?????

I received my Shanling EC3 yesterday. So, it’s nowhere near broken in yet. I’ve been playing it no more than 2 hours. I should have run it all night on mute, but forgot to.

First impressions... well made, nice form factor, easy quick start for CD playback. As to sound, it’s a bit warmer than the Jay’s CD2-MK3. Like the Jay’s there’s plenty of bass, but it’s not quite as open on top, at least not yet. But it does not seem lacking.

I have not tried ANYTHING other than playing CDs. I don’t know, yet, what firmware it was delivered with. I’ve not attempted Bluetooth or their Eddict Player App. So, I can’t comment there. I did buy this for CD playback. So, the other features are a nice bonus, but not a first priority.

I’m running the CD3 output via coax S/PDIF into my Chord Hugo TT2 DAC. I plan to test optical later today and maybe USB also. The TT2 doesn’t have I2S or AES-EBU inputs.

No buyer's remorse - everything works and sounds good. I'm especially liking the soundstage and depth. But then my DAC is a specialist in those qualities.

Hi @creativepart

Can you cancel oversampling in your Shanling EC3 transport?

It is important to any Chord DAC that has its own oversampling processing algorithm.

Interesting thread. I own an Esoteric DV60, which I use solely as a transport. The DV60 is a universal player, which means it can read SACD's, DVD A's etc., I do not think it is any less capable as a transport than a unit designed purely for CD's. I have done a few comparisons between it and these type of transports, and the Esoteric has always come out on top. Not to say that perhaps a lesser SACD unit that does all things would be in the same category, but I think generalizations, like those made above, are not always correct.