Considering the Pro-ject Box CD RS2 Transport ? You might want to read this, first.

Interesting and thanks for the insight.

You're welcome, jerryg.

Thanks for expressing your thoughts so honestly-something that's a rarity here. Like you said, you're not the only one to mention it's diminutive size, lightness and ergonomics, sonics notwithstanding (which are fantastic).

Hopefully there are other makes out there that notice the demand for a top loader that can implement the use of the StreamsUnlimited servo and reader at a more reasonable price and in a form factor that we're familiar with and used to.

All the best,
Nonoise

Hi @stuartk ,

Thanks for posting your experience interacting with the Pro-Ject RS2 Transport.

At 6,5 pounds the RS2T is alightweight unit compared to most CD transports. My digital cable is the High Fidelity CT-1Ultimate which is relatively heavy due to its large magnet assembly. It initially resulted in tugging/pulling on the lightweight RS2 when plugged into its rear panel.

I solved this by tapping the cable’s magnet to the shelf it sits upon, problem effectively addressed. My prior PWT transport weighs about 25 lbs so the magnet cable weight was no issue. The RS2 buttons are small but I find them easy to use nonetheless (And all functions can be managed with the nice aluminum remote control).

So for me the ergonomics and diminutive form factor are not an obstacle in any manner. Although small in its dimensions it is very solidly constructed. In operation it is dead silent and again very simple to use.

To all who have any interest in this Pro-Ject transport, know this, the sound quality it provides is utterly superb!!! As good as my P.S.Audio PWT is compared to many CD transports, the RS2T is in a class above . This is a serious uppermost tier component for those seeking ultra quality Redbook CD playback.

Major sonic performance in a small scale package. I completely understand why Gryphon Audio Ethos (37,000.00) and Accustic Arts Audio Drive II (18,000.00) selected the Stream Unlimited-blue Tiger servo card for their very top of their line models. That this marvelous drive mechanism is available through Pro-Ject for roughly 3,000.00 is genuinely admirable and surely welcomed.

Charles

Thanks for the positive reinforcement, nonoise  ;o)

The Pro-ject has convinced me that a superior transport makes a significant difference.  

You can get the Jays transport or the Cambridge Audio one. Both are full sized and most likely won’t fall off the shelf for being light weight. I am having the same problem with my Bellari 5 band EQ. I put my unused Project Record weight on top of it to keep from falling off the shelf.

@stuartk

"The Pro-ject has convinced me that a superior transport makes a significant difference". Amen brother👍

Charles

Mine sits on a Sorbo bed. Rock solid.

And I had a Herbie’s Black Hole that got it’s "sticky" removed by a crappy drawer loader. So I glued it to the stabilizer puck.

Voila. For $2374 delivered.

This would probably be equivalent.

@charles1dad:

I'd have thought my original post would've clarified the fact that I'm not on a campaign to bad-mouth the product. Were it offered in a more conventionally-sized and weighted case, I'd have no complaints.  

Nevertheless, no matter how many times the Pro-ject's attributes are enumerated,  it will not change the fact that I find its ergonomics very awkward.

It occurred to me that there could be others who might have a similar experience and it's those individuals to whom the thread is addressed. 

That's all there is to it-- there's no nefarious plot to ruin its reputation and no damsel in need of rescuing, as far as I can tell. 

@charles1dad:

"The Pro-ject has convinced me that a superior transport makes a significant difference". Amen brother👍"

Glad you understand me ! 

@fuzztone:

I have no doubt that your suggestions will be utilized!  

@stereo5 

Thanks for the suggestions.

I've sworn off Chinese components.  I will either wait for the (seemingly mythical) Urd to appear or try Bryston's CDP that uses older Steam Unlimited technology.

No-- it will not equal the Pro-ject but may still best the Moon. 

I

Acoustic Quality (Aqua?) has introduced its new La Diva II transport based on the CD 8 Stream Unlimited mechanism, About half the price of the Accustic Arts but still up there.

I posted about that in another thread but here it is again for those who are interested: 

https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/industry-update/aqua-la-diva-m2-cd-transport-industry-update/

It's a real looker and seems to have the performance to back it up.

All the best
Nonoise

@stuartk,

I’m surprised that you interpret my post like that ’initially ’. I did not dispute your assessment or concerns at all. You made valid points. My objective was to make it known that the issues you identified are IMO easily correctable. My RS2 sits solidly  atop of 3 Star Sound Audio points with the inverted brass disc.

I completely understand that the small form factor doesn’t work for you, no problem at all. I just see it as a case of a very fixable problem and then you’re left with an outstanding sounding CD transport. It may not be for everyone but I believe it represents the opportunity for many to obtain a reasonably priced very high level performing audio component. I took zero offense to your post @stuartk.

Charles

@nonoise69 ,

Thanks for the post/picture it is attractive.  I'm not surprised that another high level product has adopted the Stream Unlimited CD PRO-8 mechanism.  As I said before it is a first rate drive mechanism. The Pro-Ject is a terrific value to get this CD PRO-8 unit at its price. 

Charles 

@stuartk   Thank you for your carefully worded summary of the ergonomics of the transport. These kinds of things are important to many, but not important to some. I assure you, if I was purchasing one this would be of great importance to me. My CD player is 33 pounds and can’t be pushed around. I like that.

I hear what you are saying but I have yet to find a better transport.  I can live with the light weight if it sounds better than everything else I have compared it to.

Happy Listening.

 I like the CEC CD5 player, full size steel case with a Hyperstream pcm dac. It uses the same transport as in the CEC TL5 transport. It is belt drive, so the noise and jitter associated with direct drive CD transports doesn't exist and as such the total electrical noise is lower than the competition. The transport is on a suspension system to reduce mechanical noise and is optimally placed in the case. There is an upgrade available to further increase the performance.

CEC makes many of the transports in players and transports and has been do so since CD's first entered the music market place in the 80's.

For more information visit Audio Union.

I had the RS2 on Jr. Roller Blocks initially and had the same exact problem with opening it to insert a disc.  I switched to some Orea Carbons that I had and the problem is mostly solved (and sound good).  The sound quality is excellent so any inconvenience is well worth it.  Like another poster, I had the PS Audio Memory Player and this unit is far superior. I strongly suggest getting a linear power supply to power the unit.  I got the Mojo Illuminata and it improved the performance significantly.  The Illuminata is pricey, but Mojo is great to work with and have only high quality stuff.  The cost of the power supply plus the cost of the RS2 is still well below many transports.  Happy listening!

It seems like it might be hard to beat for the price.

Can the feet be replaced with something heavier to increase stability?

Maybe a heavy plate could be placed between the unit and the feet with longer screws.
 

The top and bottom of the Oreas act like suction cups to whatever they sit on and hold above. I found that out trying them in various places on my gear and it was a PITA to unstick them with one hand while holding up over 40 lbs with the other so I can see them holding the Pro-Ject firmly in place (when affixing them to the bottom and avoiding the units feet). Some minor movement may result but it shouldn’t make it a deal killer as papadog pointed out.

Lots of things to consider.

All the best,
Nonoise

I agree it's poor design. But a good solution is a heavy weight such as the old VPI brick which will also reduce cabinet induced microphonics.

@dynamiclinearity 

"I agree it’s poor design. But a good solution is a heavy weight such as the old VPI brick which will also reduce cabinet induced microphonics"

Just curious, have you listened to this transport? One point of agreement by posters on this thread is the "excellent " sound quality. What induced cabinet microphonics? The chassis is solid aluminum and properly damped. A VPI brick would very likely over damp and be counter productive. I believe this would diminished the fabulous transparency it provides.

Charles

Thank you for the review. My old Sony is starting to get flaky and I was looking at the Pro-Ject as a possible replacement. Now to find a replacement.

All the best.

JD

Terry London at Stereo Times found it can be improved with a better power supply. His suggestions seem reasonable.

Sounds like a winner that just needs a bit of extra stability for improved usability since it already has its own internal isolation.

ISOAccoutics Orea could be solution if the suction is adequate.

I bought the Rs2 T a week ago. There is another issue not mentioned here: the shuffle function does not work as it should. Instead of reading all the tracks just once in random mode, it continues playing them for hours, days, weeks. It just never stops!  I contacted the seller about this issue but no answer until now. The design of the lid and the hinges makes me think of kitchen gear.I had a LEAK CDT for a while, and it had just the same problem with shuffle play. 

Are you saying it shuffles all the tracks and once all tracks have been played it keeps on shuffling them as if repeat had also been selected?

Perhaps not conventional, but I could live with that.
 

Curious, what exactly is a "audiophile geisha"?

exactly: shuffles all the tracks and keeps on playing for ever and ever. 

@deralte why is this an issue?

all other cd players I had stopped after reading all the tracks in shuffle/random mode. And switch itself off if you forgot it; compulsary in the EU!

My guess is an "audiophile geisha" is an audiophile who's gentle and of diminutive stature.

Perhaps anyone who's not butch, awkward or clumsy.
 

There are new CD transports coming from Schitt and denafrips.

Shuffle wouldn't be doing something crazy like automatically turning repeat on, so you need to physically turn it off?

Indeed, the "repeat" sign does not appear when you choose 'shuffle', only the shuffle sign. alltough when choosing shuffle, repeat is troggled on automatically without the repeat warning on the display, and cannot be turned off.

IMHO that's not a big deal. 

@nonnoise: I'd buy the Aqua in a heartbeat if I could afford it!  

@charlesidad: I'm sorry for misunderstanding your intent. 

@gdprenkidz: I'd agree that it would be very difficult to find something better in terms of SQ.

@audio-union: How do you know when to replace the belts and how often is that required? 

@papadog, nonnoise, pedroeb:  I'd tried Oreas about a year ago under all my  components and to my ears their performance was insignificant compared to the Symposium footers. I'll grant that it's possible they could behave differently with the RS2. I still don't like the size of the Pro-ject, though.  

@happyship: I'll await their arrival with interest.

RE: "audiophile Geisha", what I meant to convey was that the delicacy required to handle/operate the Pro-ject would come naturally to a Geisha. 

Perhaps I'm particularly ham-handed but I have zero ergonomic issues operating the Simaudio transport. 

Maybe the typos above are evidence that I am in fact less manually dexterous than most! ;o) 

Christiaan Punter's / HiFi-Advice Review is online:

Aqua La Diva M2 Review

Yes, read that this morning and it had me salivating until I came to my senses concerning the price. I still want it though.

All the best,
Nonoise

@david_ten ,

Thanks for the review link. I’m curious as to how many other manufacturers will eventually utilize the CD PRO-8 drive mechanism /Blue Tiger servo card. Quite an achievement for the Stream Unlimited engineers, bravo.

Charles

Can totally relate to why you were turned off.  I love my RME DAC, it sounds incredible but it is 1u , half rack width ....it’s tiny and it’s ergonomics leave a lot to be desired.   Same deal, you have to hold it with one hand to use it from the front panel.  Thank god the remote does everything I need.   

I don’t have any issues with mine... I use the rs 4 way power supply to this and my rs2 dac. I also use the remote more than front buttons. One suggestion (might affect resale) would be to open case and line the inside spaces not blocking vents with sound deadening material  like dynamat... This would make case heavier and improve SQ even more. I did this with an arcam cds50 before and also left a heavy photography book on top.....

Extreme I know....

@richdirector ,

The optical and drive assembly are actually well isolated and address vibration/resonance impressively (A main reason why it sounds so good). I recognize that some are bothered by the small size and light weight.  

This decision of Pro-Ject to go shoebox small form dimensions is probably more comfortably accepted in Europe more so than USA (My guess). No problem for me but we're all different and I appreciate that.  it earns a sound quality grade of an "A" which is most pertinent for me😊

Charles 

@charles1dad 

I am not doing this to mine - it was addressing the issue @stuartk had 

@richfirector,

👍

@richdirector:

Thanks for your suggestion. I still found it too small. Just not for me. 

BTW, I'm a half-decent guitar player, so it's not like I'm totally uncoordinated when it comes to manipulating my digits. The Sim transport poses no issues for me.

Also, resolution has never been my topmost priority when it comes to audio, so this factors into my decision process as well.

In fact, I've been looking for speakers and over and over again I encounter reviewers' comments about forward/hot/tipped-up treble. Seems this is the current fashion, like 1 3/4" nuts on acoustics. 

@stuartk, 

Former trumpet player here 😊.  I'm with you in that I have an aversion to a clinical/dry/analytical sonic character.  I believe that good resolution can be accomplished in a natural and musical manner.  I find the Pro-Ject quite organic yet also  able to resolve and be informative. Did you not find it natural and engaging? Over the few weeks I've had it,  this quality has steadily increased. Anyway I definitely appreciate your perspectives. 

Charles