Briefly: PIoneer DV09 works very well as a CD only transport. I bought one inexpensively and it is feeding into a Meridian 563 DAC via an AQ Cinnamon coax digital cable.
There are two striking differences. The first is clarity - you can quite literally hear things you don't through the other 2 transports I have (a Rotel 975 and a Sony DVP-N50S). It's MUCH easier to follow a musical line, and to understand how they tie together. For example, with the Pioneer you can hear a number of percussive effects on Ulrich Schnauss's album Far Away Trains that are inaudible through the Rotel or Sony.
The second is authority. The Pioneer simply has a much tighter grip musically. Sonically, this means the upper frequencies are much cleaner and real sounding and bass extension, speed, and grip are significantly improved. That authority also gives it a sense of ease, and provides for improved macro and micro dynamics.
Minorl - thanks for the suggestion. Curious now to try a much newer transport, like an Oppo 103 or Cambridge CXC.
