CD Transport for the next 10 years.....

Pick up a Wadia 20 or WT-2000 used for a bargain price.....and then get it tweaked by Great Northern Sound. I recently did this and have never been happier!!!!

I also have an EAD Signature pre/pro. Get a transport that has Glass ST fiber output from Wadia or Levinson. The Spectral, Sonic Frontiers T3, Krell KPS 20T and Wadia 270 are excellent CD transport but they work better with their own DAC's to take advantage of seperate clock and data lines feature which is not available on the EAD. The SFT1, PS Audio and Theat Basic are also very good transport but replacement transport is very hard to find since Philips stopped making it a few years ago. I have a Wadia 850 and connect it directly to the amps via balanced outputs.

I second the Spectral....unbelievable how good it is.
Tim

I'd second (third....fourth...?) the Levinson #37.
I've had one about three months, and it's superb. I
previously had an EAD T-1000 which was decent, but
the Levinson is in a different class.

I'd have to say the #37. I have never owned a #31, but I'm sure it is built like a tank. There have been write-ups (stereophile) that prefered the sound of the #37 to the #31--but as we know it's very system dependent and listener preference certainly plays a role at that level. They are both excellent, and the one that is right for you probably has more to do with your budget--they'll both last 10 years easy. Also, I recently bought a Genesis digital lens. It improved the sound, but the odd thing is, that it doesn't measure any jitter from the #37. It did at first--but now that everything has been hooked up and on 24/7--no jitter.

I'm using a Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 and it's absolutely wonderful. The build quality and sonic performance are outstanding. In addition, the price you'd pay is typically less than what you'd pay for Wadia, Levinson, or Krell. Good luck!

Spectral SDR-3000.

No, I mean the 31. I had the 31 and the 37 and kept the 31. The 31 is built like a tank and will truly make a believer out of anyone who doesn't believe in transport differences. The 37 is also good, but imho not in the same league as the 31!

I would stick with Wadia, Theta, or Levinson. I have heard them all and owned the first two. It is really hard to beat the resell value, the build quality and more importantly, the sound. So, if you don't make it 10 years, you won't eat too much depreciation and will have made, more or less, the most with CDs during that time.

Gregg

I too considered the Sonic Frontiers SFT-1, but ended up getting a Theta Pearl for much less money last week.

For the next ten years? ...Ten years ago I was still using illustration board, X-acto knives and rubber cement. Now I use a thing called a computer and Adobe Photoshop.

For now, I'm quite happy with the Theta and I'm sure you'll be happy with any of the units you're contemplating buying.

Krocdoc; are you thinking of the Levinson No. 37 transport? If so, I agree, I own the ML No. 37 and it's excellent-- especially when used with an ML DAC. Good Luck. Craig

You may want to consider the ARC-CD2. Check out the reviews.

find yourself a Levinson 31 used. It will last as long as cd's are the format and will bring you nothing but pleasure!