I agree with you doug cd transports do make a difference in the quality of sound that you can get out of a dac. Even if your dac does a good job at eliminating jitter. I have an ensemble transport and hi dac i hooked up mid-fi my pioneer elite blue ray digital out to hi-dac and their was a night and day difference in quality of sound. Doug i have bought the paradigm active 40v2 and nht xd system based on your reviews and love both just wanted to say thanks and keep writing reviews for us audiophiles. Jerry
Does the Transport make a significant difference?
Had been running a squeezebox with my Audio Note 2.1 Dac. Tried my basic Oppo dvd player as a transport and yikes what an improvement - even over my $3,000 invested Modwright Sony player (a little rough round the edges but dynamic and live-ly sounding). So wondering if the mantra of having a great source is the best place to start ... ie matching the Dac to a quality transport say CEC TL 51 or open the vaults and spring for a quality Audio Note, Esoteric, or even dcs transport will be worth the investment. How does this compare with say upgrading your amp or speakers or even cables? I know I should listen for myself but any good experience out there to draw on before I start getting crazy about checking out the used adverts?