Aqua 'La Diva' ($9k) or Gryphon 'Ethos' ($39k) versus. Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T ($3k)?

I will not be overly surprised to see China’s Jay’s Audio, sooner rather than later, come ’round to the realization that, as word of the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T spreads ever wider, they will have to relent from their current stance and start building their CDT2-MK3 (or its as-yet unnamed successor) around the latest and greatest top-loading transport mechanism used in the CD Box and elsewhere.

If Jay’s Audio continues on its present course, my guess is they will soon find themselves left far behind in the sales dust as customers in the know no longer will voluntarily settle for their beautifully-made CD transport, but one unfortunately handicapped by its technologically obsolete and no-longer-manufactured top-loading CD mechanism. This outcome is all the more likely because the Jay’s in its present form is priced so closely with the CD Box RS2 - and also because nearly everyone agrees that its sound is no match to the CD Box’s.

@erictal4075

Thank you.

I feel that you and I just want fellow Audiogon members (Who still enjoy Redbook CD playback) to be aware of this affordable and "marvelous sounding" transport. True High End audio performance and refreshingly obtainable (Which is not always the case) is worth celebrating !😊

Charles

Charles dad criticized the Porsche-VW analogy as old, but that doesn’t make it less valid.  Both vehicles have the essentials required to get a passenger from Point A to Point B—4 tires, internal combustion engine, battery, brakes, etc.  Just because all 3 transports have the same disc tray doesn’t make them all equivalent.  They probably differ significantly in the other areas.

  To be clear, my sentiments are with the OP.  I’m not cashing a few IRAs to spend $40K to hear the slight improvement that such an expenditure might obtain.  However, it isn’t hard to detect the envy in his post.  He seems offended that (admittedly ridiculously priced) gear exists, that there are people who can afford it, and I also sense a bit of frustration that as good as his system is and as reasonable as his suspicions are about the price to performance ratio of the stratospherically priced gear, he will probably never really be able to verify his well founded suspicions that the higher priced stuff is not money well spent.

  I am glad that my system is so much better than I ever would have imagined it could be.  Hell, even my 2 mid Fi systems are worlds better than what I could have imagined owning 40 years ago.  
  Another old argument that rings true is that the mega bucks spenders allow for the development of technology that ultimately trickles downstream.  Let those early adopters pay the R&D costs.

  Inequality will always be with us.  Even societies that attempted to force equality at the point of a gun had elites.  At some point you have to look at the stuff that you have, ask if it makes you happy, and if the answer is yes, stop giving a rats a** about what your neighbor might have

@mahler123

Inequality will always be with us. Even societies that attempted to force equality at the point of a gun had elites. At some point you have to look at the stuff that you have, ask if it makes you happy, and if the answer is yes, stop giving a rats a** about what your neighbor might have

I’m in agreement with this perspective 100%. I’ll disagree with your assessment of @erictal4075 I don’t sense envy or frustration. He just seems incredulous and very curious as to what is responsible for the huge price discrepancy.

Relative to automobiles, CD transports are simple and straightforward. Spin the CD and read it with as much precision as possible. So a narrow focused approach is very doable and advantageous. Manufacturers aiming to build premium tier CD transports settled upon the CD Pro-8 drive. Fortunately so did Pro-Ject. A very major piece of the puzzle is accounted for.

What significant and essential major parts do Porsche and Volkswagen share in the same manner? I don’t believe that they do. I listed several areas where I suspect there are improvements made in the expensive level transports compared to Pro-Ject. How much does this impact sound quality I can’t say, but surely some.

As written earlier I’m just ecstatic that great CD playback technology is available at again an obtainable price. What ever Aqua Hifi,  Accustic Arts and Gryphon have added beyond Pro-Ject I say more power to their efforts 👍I think it's all Good!😃

Charles

I can see why someone would decry the price of the Gryphon but as for the Aqua, I've seen people spend more on Esoteric, Ayon and other brands with may have great CD sleds but operate on older disc reading tech.

That, and the previous generation CDT from Aqua looks similar but used older Philips tech and still went for not much less (most likely some licensing increased the price), so it still can be seen as reasonable.

Factor in the standard size, no operational quirks and the track record of the company, and it makes it all the more reasonable to those with greater resources who wouldn't bat an eye at the cost.

All the best,
Nonoise