CD Transports

@curiousjim 

Check this out :   https://www.psaudio.com/askpaul/what-in-the-world-is-i2s/   

Hope it solves your curiosity on the I2S connections ( = I-squared-S ) 

+ 1 @lowrider57   -  on the PSA connects using I2S ports ! 

 I know it may be heresy to admit this , but I have a PSA Nu-Wave phono pre-am and it too has a I2S port that I run into my PSA DAC .  I can do instant A-B comparisons using my Pass Pre-Am ( Analog v Digital ) and actually prefer the digital.  ( use the shortest , newest , HDMI cables for the connections for best results ! ) 

Happy listening to all ! 

Shad 

"Well that may be your opinion but what have you personally compared that transport to? In my experience my old CEC Tl5100Z had a much more musical presentation, bigger and deeper soundstage, with better mid-range for vocals, and instruments. Using a high end Metronome that was over 15 years old was another example of a transport that the Jays CDT was not capable of sounding as good. General statements to me are not that useful unless you have compared different units in the same systems and hopefully more than one system. That helps other people seeking advice to have more knowledge to select a component for their own enjoyment and to understand the differences."

bigkidz

That's a fair point you make. I have compared my Jays Transport to my fellow audiophile buddies who all have high end systems which include DAC's from PS Audio, Esoteric, DCS and Mark Levinson. I am not going to go into details but all agreed the Jays was better in almost every sonic detail from the highs, bass and midrange. It was more musical than the others with more transparency, 3d imaging and smoother.
I assume you bought the Jay's to compare?

Buy a reasonable transport and a Titans Audio Lab Helen, the combo surpasses many high end transports.

Buy this Bel Canto CD2 and pair it with an Empirical Audio Offramp and you'll be good to go for years and years...

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649501384-bel-canto-cd2/

+1 on the bel canto CD2 with latest firmware as a REDBOX TRANSPORT 

I'd say get the best dac you can. CDs may be only one digital source. You may find you have other "digital" audio sources to benefit from hooking to a DAC and your rig. TV, DVD player or streamer or computer....

Important to note that you can count on voicing differences to exist between different brands and different levels or generations of products within brand even when the measurements are identical. Measurements tend to be a threshold upon which voicing is then done. This is explained nicely by MBL's longstanding chief design engineer on John Darko's YouTube channel. Posted yesterday. Recommended viewing. 

Of course there are countless transports, dacs and opinion givers with countless frames of reference. The Only way you will know is to LISTEN to the options available for the sound that sounds and feels right for YOU.