I had an old ca. 1986 Sony ES 5-Disc change that got a lot of play until it finally dies around 2003. It was hefty at about 24 pounds, and read discs very well. Unfortunately, it only had a toslink digital out. I remedied that by inserting a $200 Monarchy 24/96 re-clocking device between the transport and a Theta Data Basic IIIA D/A converter, that I bought on Audiogon for $650. From the Monarchy to the D/A I used AES EBU digital interconnect, with excellent results. Shortly after the Sony died of old age, the Theta took a lightning strike. So now I have an Emotiva ERC-4 CD player which is also built very solidly for $600. I'd love to try it as a transport, but haven't acquired a new D/A yet. I cannot say any direct comparisons, b/c I had too many variables in the system at that time, but think the Emotiva would make a great transport only.
