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CD Transport VS Streamer

I recently purchased, and returned an Audiolab CDT 6000, because compared to my Bluesound Node 2i, the highs were rolled off and the bass wasn’t as strong.  Im comparing 16/44 tracks to a cd.  I figured it was just the Audiolab CDT 6000 so I returned it and bought a Cambridge CXC instead.  Well, it appears that the CXC is doing the same.  
To clarify, I am using the same dac and the same digital coaxial cable.  I am actually unplugging the digital cord from one device and then plugging it into the other.

The high hats and cymbals seem pretty set back and harder to define on the transports vs the bluesound.  The bass isn’t quite as full on the transport either.

I don’t think I would have ever thought that the CDT or the CXC sounded inferior until I switched back to the bluesound and noticed a difference.  The bluesound really puts forth these high frequencies and allows me to really hear high hats and cymbals as well as putting a pleasant sheen on vocals.  The bass is slightly fuller on the bluesound as well.  The sound through the CDT and the CXC is slightly dull.

This is a bit disheartening because I figured that a $600 transport playing hard copies of an album should match if not surpass a $500 streamer / dac playing files from wifi.

Has anyone else experienced this?  Im to the point where I’m questioning if the transport needs to be burned in or if It is possible that streamed files (cd quality, not high res) just actually sound better than cd’s.

My only reason for buying a transport and buying cd’s is because I don’t want to be reliant on an internet connection or my phone, in order to listen to music.  If my internet goes down while in a listening session or if I ever lost my phone for an evening, I’d have no music.  But, and this is a big BUT, I don’t want to spend $600 on a transport and hundreds on CD’s in order to end up with something that sounds inferior to a $500 streamer streaming music.

Any shared experiences with this will be helpful so Thank You ahead of time!

-Bruce

b_limo

Showing 4 responses by lowrider57

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Definitely let the CXC burnin non-stop for 2-3 days.
Which Cullen PC did you order? They all need time to burn-in, some more than others. Patrick can tell you about burn-in.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Bruce,
I can't understand your findings, although I believe you.
The Node has a small power supply vs. a good sized toroid in the CXC. The transport should be playing back music with authority across the spectrum. Are these two components on the same AC circuit? Are they running through power conditioning?



lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
I just reread your post. Poor high and low-end performance may be do to not isolating the transport. This is a lightweight component, it needs more than stock footers for best performance.

lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Bruce, trying a CDP is a good next move.
Regarding jitter, one of the reasons for designing the transport only devices is to reduce jitter (compared to a digital out on the back of a common CDP). If the CXC had a jitter problem I think it would have been exposed on this forum.
Btw, I'm using a Cullen C7 PC on my Node2i.

One piece of advice I can give you from experience is that the transport must have good isolation, either through decoupling or vibration control. You can't fully control jitter if there's vibration.
This probably isn't related to your issue, but my PS Audio transport played back so smoothly after isolating it from the shelf.


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