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Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3 wins over Aurender W20SE

In search for digital perfection I’ve continuously upgraded my streamer to find Qobuz nirvana. The streamer’s only competition has been my Audiolab 6000CDT which clearly outperformed any Chord 2go/2yu and the Volumio Primo middle grade streamer. Only after buying the flagship Aurender W20SE did my streamer blow the CD transport out of the water, like burn every CD never going back. But studying hi end CD transports I decided on the Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3 and it has been a revelation. It’s like I’ve never heard a cd before. It so outperforms the W20SE in detail clarity depth richness of tone it’s astonishing. IMHO CD with a hi-end CD transport is far far better than the absolute best streamer in the world. The W20SE is not going up for sale but will be getting much less use from now on.

I’d be interested in the community’s thoughts about CD vs Streaming.

brandonhifi
brandonhifi's avatar
brandonhifi OP
72 posts
 

@ricred1

If you have a Chord DAC the single biggest improvement is implementing Audiowise products, they are breathtaking, and will elevate your system to levels you cannot imagine. Their flagship product is the Galvanic Optical Isolation unit called the OPTO-DX, make sure to get premium cables!

 

 

brandonhifi's avatar
brandonhifi OP
72 posts
 

So after another week of critical listening I can tell you there is no digital format in existence that can compete with the CDT3-MK3 except Audiowise’s PGGB. I have 2 TB of SACD’s ripped in DSD on the W20SE’s 4TB hard drive and they sound like garbage compared to PGGB format. But the Jay’s flagship is still better imho, but only by a small margin.

 

 

kent10
8 posts
 

Hi brandonhifi,

Do you have any further thoughts on your comparison of the Jay's CDT3-MK3 and your W20SE?  Have you played files from the SSD on the W20SE?

I also have the Jay's CDT3-MK3 and am considering the Aurender N30SA for file playback.  I would be disappointed if I didn't like it as much as the Jay's.  Perhaps the 2 are just different but both still amazing.

Thanks, Kent

kennyc
2,876 posts
 

It’s not unusual for a good CDT to outperform streaming in SQ. But the decision between the 2 is usually not SQ but media availability - very different experience. Streaming leads to music discovery, often from vast libraries

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