Just ordered a CDT2-MK2 from Mike Powell in GA. Had a good chat with him this morning. My current player is just a TASCAM 500b which, hooked to an Yggdrasil (new Analog 2 board) via AES, has surpassed every expectation I had for CD playback. So I'm curious what an anecdotally world-class transport will sound like by comparison.
I've been on a vinyl bender for 3 years and for my tastes and preferences it offers what I want in terms of smooth, powerful sound with excellent dynamics and tonal texture. For reference, my vinyl rig is: GEM PolyTable Super12, AT Art9 with Namiki boron MicroRidge, into a Parks Puffin phono stage (which frankly sounds better than it has any right to given how it works and its price tag). Previous phono stage was a Herron VTPH-2.
Anyway, I digress. I was shocked to find that the TASCAM + Yggy has delivered a few discs that I have on comparable, excellent condition, original vinyl and I preferred the shiny plastic. There are others that overlap in my two collections where I prefer the vinyl, so at no point am I thinking I want to switch completely, I just want to have roughly equivalent sources for both media. And I have also determined that I am now firmly in the camp of physical media. I have Roon and I have tried a MicroRendu as well as a HifiBerry and neither have come close to what I'm getting with a CD of the same provenance.
Should have the Jay's in a couple weeks, can't wait to see how it sounds. |
Since I don't think I really made the point I was driving at when I set out on that post, my goal is to find my favorite recordings in their best form on physical media. And in cases where they are roughly equal, frankly I’d prefer to play the CD to keep wear off the stylus. To me it’s just gratifying to hear digital playback that has reminded me so much of what I love about vinyl. I had a very, very nice digital setup four years ago and it had its good points but it was more about "look what I can do" vs "how does this system make you feel?" If that makes sense. I actually feel some equivalence between the two formats now and that makes me happy because so much of what I’m after either doesn’t exist on vinyl, isn’t affordable on vinyl, or is honestly not so well-produced and translates poorly on vinyl.
Hope that makes sense :) |
A quick follow-up. I've listened to another 4 or 5 CDs tonight with everything fully warmed up. This new transport is as shocking to me as my first foray into vinyl was. It is truly special and has caused me to question basically everything I've said over the past 3 years about analog vs digital. Now, don't mistake me - I'm not suggesting it is better than vinyl; I think the mastering decides that. But what I am saying is that on the right shiny plastic discs, this thing gives me absolutely no reason to want for more. Absolutely a good buy. |
I am seriously listening to mine for the first time right now. The first disc I put in was Jeff Beck - Truth, which I listened to from my old player (TASCAM 500b) just a couple of nights ago.
The Jay's is a gamechanger. I paid $2000 shipped and I'm planning my next trip to wherever I can get to to pick up more CDs. Thrifts, music stores, don't care. I need to hear more. |
I went with the DH Labs Silver Sonic 1M BNC cable. Found one on the ’bay for $70 and I did a really quick comparison to a Blue Jeans 110-ohm XLR (which is the preferred input on the Yggy) and I prefer the BNC connection slightly. Trust me, I have my eye on the Silverstar but it’s going to be a minute on that. Bought some new tubes for my preamp tonight and I want to address a few power cabling/outlet situations first.
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Question for @teajay or anyone who might now. Does the Jay's handle pre-emphasis? I'm thinking it does not, and I only have one disc that has it (black-faced DSOTM made in Japan) so it's not a major deal, but just curious. |
@whart
Hey Bill, long time no chat! I am using the latest iteration of the Schiit Yggdrasil. They updated the analog output stage I think about a year ago, all updated units have a "B" to begin their serial number. While I would say it favors tone, texture, and musicality over imaging and spatial cues, it's really not a slouch at the latter either. |
I keep trying to find fault with this player but it's just magical. It's the kind of thing that, when combined with an equal-or-better caliber DAC it can cause you to question just about every audio preconception you've ever held. Like Redbook can't compete with vinyl or "hi-rez." I absolutely beg to differ and it has even further accelerated my CD purchases. What a problem to have :) |
I think the Rockna can perform preamp duties as well, but it would probably come down to how many sources you have as to whether or not that helps justify or offset any of its cost. I’m following Mike Powell on YouTube and his comparisons between Vermeer, Rockna, and Terminator are a lot of fun to watch, even if the format limits its ultimate effectiveness.
I wish they would settle on an i2s via HDMI standard, because as it stands I think there are some proprietary pinouts for sources and DACs so a custom cable may be necessary if the pinout on the CDT-2 isn’t exactly matching the DAC you end up with.
That said, and realize a LOT of variables have changed since this time, but I ran i2s from an audio PC to an Aqua DAC several years ago and just IMO, the Jay’s --> DH Labs Silver Sonic BNC --> Yggdrasil, which at least costwise is very equivalent to my old setup, is not just on another plane, it’s in another dimension for resolution and musicality. I say that just to make the point that i2s while theoretically better, it has its own limitations. Cable length used to be absolutely critical for it to work well. I used a 6" Cat6 cable back then, with the DAC stacked on top of the audio PC. Maybe it’s different now but just some food for thought. |
I swapped out my DH Labs Silversonic BNC for a homebrew/DIY Furutech Rhodium + VH Audio Symmetry balanced AES/EBU cable and I am very much liking the changes, even after just a couple of discs on the new cable. Since I can switch back and forth on my DAC fairly easily, it's pretty simple to A/B the two.
To me, the new cable feels less dark than the DH Labs. And Yggy's AES/EBU is purported to be "better" than its BNC, and just in general it seems AES/EBU is preferred to S/PDIF, but in any case, I'm happy I went the way I did. And I got to learn how to solder XLRs. Much easier than RCAs, IMO. |
