CEC Belt Drive CD Transports vs Jay's Audio CD Transports

Don

Certainly sorry to hear about your health, and here's to a positive outcome.

That is amazing news on the Jay's transport, and great timing. Please let us know your thoughts when it arrives!

@mesch @vthokie83 and to all the other forum members that have had interest in this thread.

So, a lot has transpired over the last couple of months. I guess I’ll just start at the beginning... Warning... I tend to get long winded (my wife often jokes that I should have been a preacher due to my gift of gab, lol).

So, after being devoted to vinyl for the last 50+ years, I have curated probably over 1,000 truly mint records (both in jazz and classical) that play without noise, pops or clicks. They have a full, rich, harmonically fleshed out sound with an excellent dynamic structure, but at the same time plays with a natural sense of ease and flow, without being etched or hard. Just truly wonderfully musical in every sense of the word.

However, I have come to know and understand that there is a great amount of music out there that is performed by some really talented musicians that I cannot obtain on vinyl and I don’t want to miss out on hearing it. So, my goal was to try and develop a digital side to my audio system what will engage my mind, my heart and my soul just as my vinyl does for me.

I figured the best way would be to invest in a separate dac and dedicated cd transport. Unfortunately though, I don’t have a huge budget for this endeavor. I’ve had many medical issues over the last several years which has cost me many thousands of dollars each and every year and sadly, I don’t really see that coming to an end anytime soon. So at the moment, I only had about $10,000 ( and was hoping to preferably spend less ) that I felt comfortable spending toward this project as I feel vinyl will likely still be my primary and preferred source.

So, I ended up buying a brand new Mojo Mystique X-24AM dac from Benjamin. Oh btw, the 24 simply stands for the year 2024. The "AM" stands for Amorphous Cores by the Swiss Company Lundahl who makes audiophile transformers and chokes.

I had given some thought to other dacs as well, but I would have to buy most of them on the used market and then there would be no return options available. I’d have put them up for sale and wait for a buyer; and who knows what kind of loss I’d take. I did originally purchase a new LTA Aero Dac and had it at home on a trial basis. It truly was an amazing dac with an unbelievable amount of what I would simply call a "purity of tone" with dynamics that is unforgettable! A must listen for those of you looking in the $4000 or above price range. Nicholas and Jacob from LTA are absolutely top notch gentleman and are wonderful to work with... highest of recommendations!

I decided to try the Mojo, because i have read that many people who appreciate vinyl playback seem to like what this dac does. That it plays music in a way that doesn’t sound hard or etched or thin or lean or "digital" in the bad sense of the word. I know that digital has the ability to sound really, really good. I just didn’t really know how much one would have to pay and if I could afford to pay for what is considered the really, really good sounding units.

This brand new Mojo was on sale with $1,000 off and it still cost me nearly $7700 including the shipping! Holy Crap; and I still had to buy a dedicated cd transport yet. Oh my Lord... what was I getting myself into, lol.

I’ve had the Mojo Dac running 24/7, with my cd player on repeat, since I’ve received it and now have over 500 hours on it. I am listening to it right now as I type this message and I am getting very excited as the sound has really opened up now and I am really liking what I’m hearing! (It actually really started to sing quite beautifully at around 150 hours - but amazingly, it somehow continues to keep sounding better and better!)

The sound is full; it’s rich; it’s organic; it’s dynamic; it’s got great tone; it’s got detail; it’s got bass; it’s got weight and density...I’m loving that when it plays the "note" that you hear the attack of the note, but it’s not hard or over emphasized. You hear the full harmonic structure of the note (the fullness of sound/ the meat on the bones); and you can hear the decay of the note (ie: ringing of the cymbals/ bells/ or the trailing off of a sustained piano note).

With the Mojo, it sounds dynamic without sounding hard. It plays in a relaxed and natural way without becoming fatiguing, but yet at the same time it still plays with speed, with dynamic expression and with emotion!

So, I recently ended up taking a look at USa’mart one day and just moments prior to me bringing up the site, a seller posted a used black (which goes very nicely with the rest of my gear) Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK3 dedicated cd transport for sale in like new condition which included the Headquarter Qstab bone cd clamp at a price that was attractive to me, so I bought it!

I couldn’t believe the timing of it getting listed moments before I decided to look at the ad’s! It almost felt like it was meant to be! I paid more for the Mojo than I had originally planned on paying for a dac, but I can honestly say that I’m glad I gave it a try as the Mojo, in my humble opinion, is worth every penny I paid for it. It’s got great tone, body, weight, timing, and dynamics without being forced. There is no glare, hardness or digital nasties. My wife actually comes into my music room and comments on how great it sounds. She often looks to see if I have a vinyl record spinning!!! That’s a huge compliment to the Mojo and is exactly what I was hoping for.

Now, with the Jay’s CD Transport, the sound has gotten even better in every respect. The Jay’s does indeed improve the sound very nicely. What I notice with the Jay’s in place is not only more foundation to the music, but also more wholeness to the music. The becomes even more full, weighty and dynamic. There is also at the same time more nuance; you also hear more into the soundstage, almost eerily so. There is more space, more ambient cues, more naturalism, just more of everything in a very good and musical way... Needless to say, I’m very happy right now with the digital side of my system!

I truly appreciate everyone taking the time to share their thoughts, experiences, and advice with me by posting to my thread. I just really wanted to take a moment to circle back and let you all know a little bit about my journey and where I landed.

Thank you for allowing me to indulge you all, with my excitement!

Best wishes to you all,

Don

You are very welcome. Thanks for the wonderful feedback!  So sorry to hear for your health issues and hope things improve for you. 

I also found my Jay's CD2MK3 to make an improvement in my system. I haven't put many hours on it over summer since I purchased it in April, that will change over the winter months. Based on others experience I look forward to improvements with additional hours. 

Take care of yourself and let the music heal. Mike

@mesch Thank you, Mike for your well wishes...much appreciated!

I wanted to attach a pic of the Jay’s Audio transport and of my system in my above post, but I am so terribly technically challenged, that I failed, lol. However, I am not one to give up... so trying yet again After decades of being an audiophile, I think that I have finally reached my goal for my in-home listening pleasure.

Here is the Jay’s on the top shelf with the Mojo Mystique X-24AM Dac directly below it.

My Linn LP12 in custom Brazilian Rosewood Plinth, Naim Aro Tonearm, Benz Ruby Zebra Wood Bodied MC cartridge.

My custom EL84 amplifier with vintage iron from Pilot, utilizing NOS tubes from Mullard. My Single Ended 845 Triode power amplifier with NOS tubes to the right.

My Wavestream Kinetics Deluxe Reference Level 5.1 All Tube Phono Amp on the top shelf to the right. My First Sound Presence Audio dual mono tube line stage on bottom shelf middle.

My Dunlavy SC-IV Signature loudspeakers.

Thank you all for joining me in my home-audio journey!

Best wishes to you all,

Don

@no_regrets    That's a really tempting looking system you've got there. I'm just wondering...you were really complimentary of the LTA, so what does it lack that makes the more expensive MOJO the final choice?