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CD Player or Transport

I previously owned a Sony SCD-1, but sold it because it was taking up too much space and the location I had it in was a pain for a player that loads from the top.  I own about 300 CDs and miss playing them.  I started to upload them to my computer, but it was taking too much time and I abandoned the project.  

I recently purchased a Sim Audio Moon ACE.  I am considering buying a CD player or a transport to play my CDs. I would like to keep the purchase under $1000.  My question is- am I better off putting all of my funds into a transport and using the DAC in the ACE or does it make sense to just buy a CD player?  I am pretty happy with the sound quality I get streaming through the ACE, so I am leaning towards a transport, but wanted to throw it out there to see if there are any pros to a CD player that I might be missing. Would also appreciate any suggestions within my price point.

Thanks
durangowill

Showing 1 response by cdc

cdc
1,868 posts
 

Historically, it was said that a separate transport / DAC would generally give better sound than a standalone CDP. Separated components, two power supplies etc.

Nowadays, it seems a DAC is used if you want streaming, not for redbook playback only. Besides that, I question why Chord Q-test uses a wall-wort (is it even regulated?) That's the best they can do with a $1,995 DAC? When Musical Fidelity prices goes from M3 $1,599 to M6 $2,889 largely due to a better power supply. Some thinks it makes a difference, some thinks it doesn't.

The other question is: is CDP better because the transport and DAC are designed as one to be used together? Does mixing and matching transport and DAC deteriorate sound due to some incompatibility issues?

 

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