Open CD player design

I have an Ancient Audio Lektor Prime. I see neither advantages nor disadvantages to open spinning of CDs other than the fact that it is an outstanding CDP (and it looks cool). Jarek is very open to correspondence. You should ask him why he chose this particular drive. I suspect that he will say that it is the best available, but you should ask him.

I have a 47 Labs Shigaraki transport that I use with their matching DAC and have experienced no drawbacks to this configuration. I bought it for the sonic qualities. I personally like the aesthetics although it may not suit all tastes. The exposed laser lens does require maintenance with regard to occasionally blowing off dust from time to time but this has never been an issue and motivates me to keep this and my other equipment clean.

i owned the 47 labs shigaraki combo for almost two years and never "dusted" the lens mechanism. i had no issues at all with the combo. i still use the dac, but i sold the transport in favor of my SB3.

the SB3 didn't outperform the shigaraki transport, but i could not honestly tell the difference between the two. my motto is, if two components sound the same, keep the cheaper and sell the pricier.

I may have overstated the dust issue as it has never been a problem for me personally. The dealer I bought the Shigaraki transport from suggested blowing dust off the laser lens if necessary which would depend on the particular environment where it is situated. Keeping a CD on the transport or using the small plastic cover when not in use makes this a non issue in reality.