CD Player transport for under 2k

Good point Joe. I just picked up a Theta Pearl CD transport. What sealed it for me was some information provided by Ed Deitemeier with Theta. He said that repairing a Data Basic would be tough because they use the now unavailable Phillips CDM-9 mechanism. The Pearl, Miles and Jade on the otherhand use the still manufactured Pioneer Stable Platter mechanism.

Flavio, thanks for creating this thread. I too have been considering purchasing a CD transport to go along with my Bel Canto DAC 1.1. Hopefully, you'll get some informative responses.

Some of the units I've been looking into are the Theta Data Basic I and II, the Sonic Frontiers SFT-1, and PS Audio Lambda mkII. These are all discontinued units and can be bought at great discount. However, there is a thread in this forum that raises concerns over the reliability and accessibility to repair of the Lambda mkII's transport mechanism.

I've also considered getting integrated CD players such as the Anthem CD-1 6-disc changer and the Roksan Caspian, then using their digital outs. I have heard that these units are very good all-in-one players, so my Bel Canto might not make that much of a difference. But they're pretty cool looking units.

I hope this helps out.

Hi Joe. Yeah, the problem with the Pearl was completely operator error. I changed out the digital cable to Kimber Illuminations D60 and the performance was just fine. When I reinserted the Cardas Lightning L-15 back in, the sound was also very nice. It was probably just a case of a poor mechanical connection. Ed Deitemeier with Theta Digital was very helpful.

After a full week of play and not moving any cables around, the sound is really starting to come through. The D60 has been in my system full-time, and it is in no way bright. As funny as it sounds, I guess electronics just need a little time to adjust to each other. The sound is much smoother and more organic than it was a week ago.