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If the DAC is the same, how different do CD transports sound?

One interesting topic of discussion here is how audible the differences are between CD players when they are used as transports only — or when they are only transports to begin with.

In other words, in a comparison which keeps the DAC the same, how much difference can be heard between CD transports?

This recent video by Harley Lovegrove of Pearl Acoustics provides one test of this question. It may not be the ultimate test, but he does describe the experimental conditions and informations about the qualifications of the listeners.

He comes to the main conclusion here: https://youtu.be/TAOLGsS27R0?t=1079

The whole video is worth watching, I think.

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Showing 1 response by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,486 posts
 

For most of the history of CD players there have been only a few transport manufacturers… but CD players and transports sounded quit different with the same transports. Companies that wanted to get the most out of sound would go through extraordinary feats to mechanically and electrically isolate the drives to perform their best. And it works.

 

This is why, although CDs are waning in popularity there are still a number of high quality transports out there. 

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