CD transport recommendations

For the money, you can't beat the PSAudio PerfectWave transport, IMHO. I've seen them used for as little as $1300. I've owned CEC and Meitner transports and auditioned Esoteric and Consonance transports and the PWT beat them all.

Its jitter and noise measurements are vanishingly low and I've not had a single issue with mine in three years. Both the CEC and Meitner transports developed either belt or lazer problems. The PWT is musical, affordable and reliable. You may find a cheaper transport, but you'll have to spend a great deal more money to best the PWT.

There is no question that CEC transports are good...I've owned and auditioned several. However, what you have to pay for their top-of-the-line models simply does not result in a decent "bang for the buck" when you compare what you can get with a PWT or a computer based source, IMHO. The CEC units' belts wear out and getting service for them is becoming increasingly difficult. I know because when my TL5100 developed a read out issue, I spent months tracking someone down who'd give a go at it without a schematic. I wouldn't pay more than $1500 for ANY stand-alone transport in 2013.