What is the best transport?


I want to upgrade my transport. I am using the Audio Note CDT 2. My dac is the Audio Note 2.1x sig. I have not yet auditioned any new transports, but have read up on the Audio Note CDT 4 and the Esoteric P-03.

Both of these are in the 16-18k price range. My budget can go that high. Will my dac be good enough or be overpowered?

What else is available which should be considered?
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Showing 2 responses by joncourage

I agree with advocates of Computer-based audio having fully arrived, and the reasons they've presented are valid in my experience.

I do not agree that it's a headached to get started; that depends a good deal on how much you enjoy working with computers. I happen to enjoy it, so ripping, organizing and tagging CDs, and setting up the music server were satisfying experiences. As Steve N. says above, it's just about which paradigm you're used to or gravitate to. None of it is "difficult", it's just relative to your skills and patience to learn something new.

I don't understand why anyone would assume that the digital output of a device spinning a disc would be superior to the (same) digital output of a device decoding the *same exact data* from a computer file. Many of us believe that the absence of said spinning disc results in superior audio. Ironically, the CD players that buffer the CD to storage before outputting it are... guess what.... computers! I don't see how that is *any* different from a music server or network transport.

In any case I believe so much of it still has to do with synergy of components, just like in the old days.

Add the convenience of having an entire collection of tagged, instantly-accessible music and no need to keep physical CDs racked and organized, and I will never go back.

Many high end DACs accept USB, or something like the Halide S/PDIF - USB converter, making a connection from something like a Mac Mini a no-brainer. And the software/player options seem to keep getting better and better. The local audio store here uses a MacBook front-end running Amarra into the DAC over USB to feed a system with Wilson Sashas, Ayre mono-blocks and pre, and it sounded beyond belief.

I am using the Transporter, because I happen to really like the interface and options, but I'd be equally satisfied going USB out from a Mac Mini straight into my DAC.

I really don't know if the sound equals CD physical transports costing $4k and up, but it sounds a boatload better than the sub-4k players I've tried in the same system.

I'm going to take a guess that many of the nay-sayers have never actually heard a decent music server/network player setup.
At the highest level there are really just two simple parts to computer-based music. First, ripping, tagging and storing your music files into a central location. Tools like dbpoweramp, mp3tag and exact audio copy make the process fairly straightforward and automated. I actually find the process fun, but it can be time consuming and I can see how some might find it tedious. Difficult, however, I just can't agree with

Second is the transport part. How do you get these files to play on your stereo. The simplest way may be to just connect the computer you store the files on via USB to your dac. If your dac only has s/pdif you can use a USB to spdif bridge. Fire up your software and voila, instant jukebox. the computer is your transport. The other alternative is a networked player, for instance squeezebox touch or transporter or auraliti, Marantz, etc. this route is great also, the player is your transport, but it can be slightly trickier to configure.

I'm just clarifying here, not proselytizing. Do what makes you happy. I just don't buy that it's difficult.

As far as which is better, I guess only your ears will tell but I recommend trying or auditioning both before ruling either out.