How much to spend on a cd changer as a transport

If you can find one used (they don't make them anymore), the Aiwa XC-30M, XC-35M, or XC37M are good sounding transports. It is one of those cheap accidents of nature. The Chicago Audio Society uses one in their reference system.

hehe...thanks sugar, I have heard Aiwa maked a good transport, and was a bit dumbfounded by such a claim, but will look into this further.

I have both the Aiwa (which I had modified by Stan Warren) and a Sony SCD-555ES. The Sony is a much better transport. The Sony is or was available discounted for $600.

For better or for worser, none of the mass-to-mid-fi players/changers that I tried hooked up to my DAC could ever hold a candle to the mid-high-end dedicated transport that I use now (even with a jitterbox in between). It's not enough to be a rule, but it's certainly been a trend...

Invest in the best source you can afford it the foundation for your system. I like the Audio Research CD2 its a steel used ! at around $ 1,500.00

Part of using the Aiwa is putting a 5 lbs bad of sand on top. Stan Warren will not tell you this I believe. It is from the tests done by the Chicago Audio Society (www.chicagoaudio.org). Double ZIPPER bag it for safety. This costs pennies. Vibrapods are also helpful from my testing of the Aiwa ($24).

I appreciate all your posts, but aside from Sugar I'm not sure I'm getting my question answered. I realize in this hobby spending more generally means better quality/sound, however I am trying to figure out where the law of diminishing returns applys to cd changers/dacs and I really want to stay with a changer. I have looked very closely at the McIntosh changer and the Anthem CD1. I'm hesitant to buy the Anthem since it is no longer produced, and the McIntosh is out of my price range (unless I buy used, and I haven't seen any used for sale...plus that comes with no warrenty...lil scary).

So, if I were to buy a Bel Canto DAC for ~$900, how much would I need to spend (and give me an example of a maker) to get the quality of a single disc unit, such as the Jolida JD100 which is what I would buy if I don't go with a changer. It certainly is not cost effective for me to buy a $1500 transport and a $900 DAC. Hopefully I cleared up what I'm looking for...thanks for your opinions/advice.

Matt

And Sug...I currently have a bad of lead shot on my current cd changer, an old Marantz that runs to my jitter reducer, then to my CAL DAC. At first I didn't notice a difference, but after some experimentation with brass cones, I have found a lil better performance from the system.

Don't most CD changers use toslink rather than a coax IC hookup? I'm sure that in itself will open up a whole new can of nightcrawlers.

I think some of the Aiwa changers mentioned are around $100 used. That's a pretty cheap experiment in my book.

Those CAL Audio Delta transports are good and cheap. Get a dac with multiple inputs and 3 or 4 Deltas then you got a "dedicated CD changer".

If you want a changer as a transport, you will be hard pressed to find anything better than the Sony SCD-C555ES. I have owned or tried a bunch of transports, including the aforementioned Aiwa, Cal Delta, Rotel, Audio Alchemy, Marantz, etc and the Sony is a better transport than all of them. The Sony isn't as good as single disc transport like a Theta Data or CEC, but it is better than a lot of budget gear. I have not heard the Bel Canto 2, but I have owned the Bel Canto 1. You may want to listen to the Sony as a stand alone player before buying the Bel Canto dac. While I use the Sony as a transport, it isn't a bad sounding cd player either.

I WILL NEVER for go the convenience of a changer and for that reason bought a Sony SCD-C555ES. I can attest that it is a very well built machine and if you can find one, I would highly recommend one.

There are, as of this writing, 3 want adds for them here on AG and none listed for sale. A more realistic alternative would be to grab an SCD-C222ES (or even SCD-C333ES, if you don't care about SACD-Multi), as they are also changers. There are a couple SCD-C222ES players listed on AG now for $300 or a little more. Even more adds for SCD-C333ES players are listed. All but one are asking quite a bit more than the $300 range, though.

Again an SCD-C555ES would be an excellent choice, I think. Good luck finding one, however. If I were you (but of course, I am not) I would try to grab an SCD-C222ES off AG for the fact that it is a decent quality changer and also happens to have both flavors of SACD (as does the SCD-C555ES).

Just my 2 cents. Happy listening with what ever you choose.