Silly Question...does a transport have a "sound" ?

Short answer: No
The only thing audible in ANY digital system are the
algorhythms in the converter and the clock.
Bad converters give you the thin 'digital' sound and a bad clock smears the soundstage ("jitter"). Transports only job is to keep the RAM-buffer filled.
Should you visit a recording studio you might find that all their transports are cheap computer drives (I hear Yamahas are quite popular) but clocked from a masterclock whose cost can easily go into the thousands (Apogee are very well regarded).Sometimes these clocks are even placed in different rooms or buildings as they are susceptible to vibration.
Oh, high-end cd systems don't usually have clock in/outs? Thats about as sensible as having an analog
tonearm with the cartidge welded into place!

Hi All, there will always be the discussions in high end audio whether you can hear the difference in like components. I have been an audiophile for nearly 40 years and not to long ago Electrical Engineers said that if two 100 watt amps have the same topology they will sound the same. Also not too long ago people pushing high end gear said the speaker is the most important component in the audio chain, and one should spend more of their budget on speakers. Anyone remember these gems of wisdom, of cause both are untrue. One does not have to prove there are differences through one formula or another, all one has to do is comparison listen. I have owned many transports over the years, as in, Esoteric P2, several Barclays, Forsell Air, Cec TL-1, Levinson # 37, Krell MD 2 and 10 and so on. I know I've left out a few, but no ones perfect. To say the least they were all good sounding transports, and yes in direct comparison they all sounded different, and all were up to spec. I had the Forsell, Cec and the Barclay in my system at once and one of my audiophile friends switched tranports on five cuts on five CDs and I picked out each transport 10 out of 10 times. I think the reason people can't or won't hear differences in transports are multi faceted. They are not listening to the transports in their own familar system, they don't know how to listen, they are not comparison listening and of cause my favorite, the rationalization that an inexpensive transport is just as good as a real high end transport, after all its only 1s and Os. Yeah right. Make no mistake, you better try your next transport in your system, because not only do they sound diffent to each other, they will also sound different in each system. OK my favorite all time transport, the Forsell, second Cec TL-1. Atlas the Forsell was problematic and was to put plainly a pain in the ass. I got rid of it and have been using the CEC ever since, I've modded it and it remains the most analoque sounding transport, with the Forsell edging it out slightly. I will get off my soap box now and return to my listening room.

If jitter is so important, why do we hardly ever see jitter measurements published for CD players the way we see things like THD, frequency response, etc.? Come to think of it, does anyone know what a good jitter spec would be?

Hi All, I guess it's back up on my soap box again. Well in January I wrote about the different sounding transports and, then my current transport the CEC TL-1. It appears like children and animals, when you talk about them they act up. My CEC started not reading certain discs and had problems searching programed discs over 12 tracks. The CEC never had a laser replacement and I suspect that's what is needed. I will replace the laser assembly when I can find a substitute assembly that fits, because the original laser is no longer available. In the interim I purchased an Accustic Arts Drive 1 online from Playhouse Audio. I hooked the Drive up with an RCA Goldmund Lineal Digital cable and with about a two hour warm up I began to listen. All areas of performance exceeded the CEC's performance, with the exception of the treble, which was stiff,hard and a bit steely, very unCEC like. I was not happy in the least. I rationalized that the Drive 1 spent two days in a cold FedEx truck, so I let it burn in for three days. To say the least all aspects of performance are better than before and the treble is smooth, silky and rounded. I suspect that with more burn in over time it will even get better. At this point I believe this transport is reference quality in sound reproduction and fit and finish. Outstanding top to bottom, highly recommended.

At one time I too believed there were minor if any differences in transports.I know otherwise now.I tried a number of them for my bryston dac and can tell you the Acoustic arts drive 1 it was jaw dropping.It easily better the dv50 in my opinion and sounded quite analog like.I would wager that the bryston/acousic arts drive combo would rival many a very high end player.