CD transports


I recently started running my CD player ( Luxman D380) through my external DAC and have found a significant sonic improvement.  I wonder if I would achieve further improvement in sound quality if I traded in the Luxman and bought a dedicated CD transport ( price range 3-4 K ).

Has anyone gone down that rabbit hole?

mdrone
My best dedicated transport was a high end CEC belt drive top loader and it was very decent. However, moving to a Naim Uniti music server rendered that impotent by a large margin. Not saying it can't be done, but I question that much investment into a transport vs a credible server. Even more improvement with the Naim Core server. Best of luck with your audio Nirvana search.

++++ NAIM Uniti, and the  Core comes with LPS, specify a 4 TB SSD drive and rip away….

@mdrone:

In fact, this "rabbit hole" has been extensively discussed. Search the archives.

I compared the Pro-ject CD Box RS2T transport to my Simaudio 260DT transport and in my system (Wells Majestic integrated /Silverline SR 17.5 monitors/Aqua La Voce 2 DAC) the Pro-ject offered noticeably more detail.  

Only you can judge whether a separate transport is worth the investment and this can only be determined by you listening to transports in your system.  

Besides the Pro-ject, other brands to look into are: Jay's, CEC, Cambridge and, as mentioned, Simaudio. 

Good luck! 

Thanks for the tips.  One of the Pro-ject dealers warned me about quality issues with the Pro-ject transports.  He has had 4 defective units and is planning to drop them as a result.  Wonder if anyone else has heard similar complaints.

You might get better focus in the responses if you named your DAC.  

Nevertheless I'll give the answer you don't want to hear.  Rather than tie yourself to an outdated technology, perhaps it's time to rip your CD collection and stream your music to your DAC.  It can easily be less expensive and provide better, or comparable SQ.  You can then control your music from a phone or pad.

Sure, no problem.  Its a Bricasti M3.  My amplifier Leben CS600, and Speakers DeVore O93.

I think you should keep the Luxman. I have the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 Transport and it has added significantly to the enjoyment of my CD collection, however I would think your Luxman would sound just as good.

Check out the Cyrus CDt XR.  Cyrus makes brilliant CD players and at a root level, that start with a great transport.  This would be a superb option.  
 

 

Jay’s seems like a real good option.  But, you could also try a reclocker on ur Luxman and get good improvements for less.  Empirical Audio and Wyred4Sound offer good ones.  You have a great DAC so not sure how much a reclocker would help, but just another option to explore FWIW.  Best of luck.  

I use a Cambridge CXC transport with my DAC, and it  sounds just  fine. As already mentioned,  your existing Luxman CD player is a fine piece, so it might be better  to do nothing. 

Yes there is another issue: space.  The Luxman is huge and my space is shrinking shortly.  You know the downsizing thing we all go through.  Probably going to move to smaller quarters in the near future.

Top-loading vs. tray-loading can have more of an impact on space issues than the size of the unit.

The Cyrus gets great reviews, but there seem to be a lot of complaints about quality and breakdowns

I heave heard about challenges with the native software for streaming but not about QC challenges with the actual hardware.  Interesting.  

Heard, repaired, upgraded more that 50 transports.  The Project was the best of all of them.  The Jays is very good, offers a different sound.  Bested a bunch of streamers, etc., no contest.  Rega Saturn is a cheaper options that can be modified to sound even better.

 

Happy Listening