If you still spin CD's their is a reference level Transport for reasonable money
I just got in-house the Jay's Audio CDT-2 MK3 transport to review for hometheaterreview.com. The build quality and physical appearance make it hard to believe that it retails for around $2,400. Right out of the crate not even broken in yet, it's out performing my CEC double belt transport in the reference system. It retains all the liquidity and analog smoothness of the belt driven transport but offers more details, tighter bass frequencies, and a larger layered soundstage with more air between the players.
Alvin, of Vinshine Audio set this review up with me, so if you go to his website you can get a lot more details/pictures on this transport. The reason I was motivated to review a CD transport was I received scores of requests from my readers asking what is a great sounding transport, for a reasonable amount of money. So far, in spades the Jay's Audio CDT-2 MK3 fits the bill easily.
Hi Everyone - I'm shocked no one mentioned a Meridian 800 transport, especially with a linear power supply. We have a moderately high end system and I've yet to hear anything that comes close to this transport. The latest, discontinued Oppo can't compete. Hope I'm not creating a controversy with this post - happy listening :-)
@nonoise, you are correct .. The Rockna wavenet server which is pretty killer sounding sounded no better than the Jays when playing the first track of side 2 Pink Floyd The Wall via USB with Jays using SPDIF. The piece I was playing on the server was being played from my desktop hard drive as the core, so it was across the network with no special ethernet anything. Tonight I'll turn the screws a little tighter and go i2s and use the onboard SSD as source. Lets see what happens.. Yes for certain it is a killer transport I would totally love to keep it but thats just not a smart use of my capital right now. Ive got a CODA Integrated coming in to compare with Kinki, I bought it as a backup, then Ive ordered a custom 4 way discreet differential crossover and on and on.. lol Cheers ! @in_shore its always interesting to me how people find out about them. Ask Bob out of all the 500 power cables hes tried which one is his favorite.. Did you go Sig Balanced .. or ? yes, feel free to call anytime..
jafant - not sure what customer care you've experienced, was your representative / service through an authorized Meridian representative? In 20 + years of owning Meridian gear and 4 service occasions we've had first rate / world class care and service experiences. Ironically, we're currently sending in our 800 series equipment for service and have received exceptional care from Marc Koval (out of Douglasville, GA, 404-585-102). Marc is Meridian's authorized USA service center and we couldn't be happier with the professional service, care and guidance he providing.
I believe that the dicey part as it pertains to older Meridian players availability of drive/transport and other critical parts. From the reading, newer spinners do not seem to suffer the same fate.
Mike yep Rockna on these shores the owners are few however I read about the Rockna back in 2016 and the name and commments just stuck in my head . Bob Neill has been very helpful when things went stale and boring with my system last year, he’s a great guy and I was delighted to see he now carries Rockna. I purchased the single ended model .
@in_shore Which level of Rockna DAC do you have? Can you share your impressions in greater detail here or via PM to me? Also, have you had a chance to try out or listen to their Net Player paired with the DAC? Thanks.
David there are two models of the Rockna dac ,one is single ended and the 2nd model is fully balanced at more dollars , I purchased the single ended model. I bought the Rockna totally blind like I did with the fabulous Denafrips Terminator ,
My better half brought the hammer down over some of these purchases .I’d shutter to think how she would react if I was to order the Rockna net player , it’s pricy .
I actually reviewed the Woo transport a few years back and it was quite good for the money. However, based on build quality and more importantly sonic performance it comes no were close as being in the same league as the Jay's Audio transport.
Hi teajay, The ps audio transport you reviewed is old, The new ps audio direct stream memory player transport in my opinion will out perform the jay's audio transport hugely, it's not even in the same league, btw, liquidity is a coloration, a live acoustic piano recital does not sound liquidity, why should a system?
I totally agree that you can speculate on which transport would sound better. However, I have heard the latest generation of the PS Audio DS transport and I prefer what the Jay's Audio CDT-2 MK-2 does in my system with my DAC.
Your second statement is the old agreement between listeners who want for example a line-stage that is a "straight wire with a gain" not to "color" the sound vs a listener who wants the tonality/timbres and spatial qualities that a tube based line-stage provides to the music. I use the term liquidity to mean a lack of grain or dryness without becoming euphonic at the expense of punch/macro-dynamics or details. The Jay's Audio transport offers more of this then the PS Audio for my tastes on straight Red book sampling rate.
Here's the most important question for you: Have you actually heard both transports? If not you are welcomed to your speculation. However, that's all it is, not a factually based conclusion based on personal experience. I find it fascinating when people post that have never actually heard the piece being discussed or "know" that one piece of gear is better then the other, even though they never have heard the piece of gear to make the comparison.
David 10 , Rockna offer two dacs , the Signature model and the Wavedream edition , I purchased the Wavedream edition single ended . The Signature model retails for about 5 grand more for the single ended and 10 grand more for the balanced model .
Audiolabyrinth I use to have the PS Audio Direct stream dac senior and memory player which I purchased brand new last year and by accident I found better performance for thousands less .
All my listening notes are now complete for my review on the CDT-2 MK-2 transport. If you want a Red Book CD transport that, does not upsample the bit stream, to deliver an analog type liquidity (very much like a CEC belt drive transport) with powerful overall dynamics and excellent air and 3D imaging, along with very high quality construction and a beautiful appearance this is your next purchase if you still spin disks as I do. It is hard to believe a piece of hardware this good can be sold for around 2K on today's market.
@jriggy Not sure. I can't even find out what the hell this thing actually transports. ?? Redbook only? SACD? DVD-A? tacos???
I sent an email to Jay's distributor with this question, no response. I looked up the reviews on this Transport, they do not say what Resolution it transports. ??
A preview on the CDT-2 MKII has just gone up on Six Moons website. Srajan Ebaen was kind enough to use my comments in his preview overview. By the way he explains some of the major points of interest regarding build quality vs cost and his pictures are much more revealing then what's on Vinshine Audio's website.
If you still spin CD's, I do, you really want to take a look at this transport for many superlative reasons.
teajay said... "Hey audiolabyrinth,I totally agree that you can speculate on which transport would sound better. However, I have heard the latest generation of the PS Audio DS transport and I prefer what the Jay’s Audio CDT-2 MK-2 does in my system with my DAC."
The DMP’s latest FPGA OS update takes the sound quality of the transport to a much higher playback level.. Cleaning up the loose ends in the old code has turned the DMP into a formidable contenter of being one of the best sounding transports available today...Paired with the DS dac[via hdmi]...the music is sublime. Also..more updates yet to come...8)
With an extensive collection of RedBook classical CDs, over the last three years i've tried several brands of CD players, and transport /DAC combinations
Hi aolmrd1241, I have the latest fpga up date on the ps audio direct stream memory dac and matching transport, also the latest new transport with the new firm ware 3.06, the fpga is 0.02,,, I just got a brand new transport after sending the other one back, just now got 200 hrs on the transport, the other one stopped working because the firm ware would not work with new up dated transport in the transport , I ignore silly comments like teajjay said, Although I respect the gentleman, an example of what I'm saying here, It is silly to believe a red book only transport will sound better than a transport that up samples all red book to dsd, hope you believe that as well, cheers 🎼🎶🎵
Thanks for calling me a gentleman and respecting me. However, your statement that for me to say, based on actual listening experience, that it is "silly" that a transport that just delivers standard Red book cannot sound better then a transport that up samples red book to DSD raises the question that higher sampling rates are superior sonicly to red book sampling rate. My reference DAC only does Red book using NOS chips and I find it's presentation much more musical then DSD based DACS.
Hey Mike, Let us know how the I2s works between the transport and the Denafrips terminator dac. I think it suppose to be the best input for the Terminator.
I use the Terminator with the PS Audio Memory Player using the I2s connections and it sounds really good.
Hi snopro, I to use the I2S connection from the ps audio memory transport to the latest updated ps audio direct stream dac usein the wire world platinum starlight HDMI cable, I agree, it does sound good, a lot cheaper than usein another type cable.
Hi Audiolabyrinth, I also use a platinum starlight hdmi. I have a directstream dac and denafrips terminator. I perfer the terminator with redbook cd’s.
Teajay, if you didn’t use the I2s output to your dac, then you didn’t hear the memory transport at it’s best, imho.
Honestly, I'm not sure what the jitter level is for either transport. I'm assuming it's low for both transports. I do no measuring for my reviews, but base my conclusions on extensive listening of the review piece with a comparison to other pieces of gear that I have experience with. In this case I have had highly regraded transports that range in cost from around 3K up to 30K in my system. Yet, the Jay's audio CDT-2 MKII based on performance is the transport I now use in my reference system because it out performed these other highly regarded pieces. It's beautifully built and is a bargain at around 2K.
Hey Snopro, i2s on transport comparing AES vs i2s will happen this weekend and will report findings. CDT 3/ AES vs Wavenet /I2s was indistinguishable. CDT3 teamed with Stello D700 comparing wordclock in and out gave me hope for outboard wordclock as it was audibly more pleasing with it in. @T.J. always amazes me how many people will speak like they know something when they have never personally heard both items. Today I got one of my clients to drop off a PS Audio Direct whatever DAC so I can finally talk about this thing which I dont like but never speak to that because Ive never had it in my rig. I am fully anticipating to be able to talk smack about PS Audio after my tests and Im hoping to drive my feeling home that PS Audio is Mid Fi at best. For some reason these PS users love to fight. They spout off at the mouth any chance they get using words like "best" ..lol so I want fuel for battle. I simply think they have not heard anything better. Now I just stuck my neck out and If I deserve schooling and a slap for that little rant I will honor truth and give it to you guys with an apology.. Sheesh.. @DavidTen Signature Rockna is at least 30% better sounding than the regular. In fact I declined Rockna based on the "edition" model. Sig Balanced in 20 seconds had me rationalizing its purchase which was totally beyond my normal limit for a DAC. It has something that no other DAC to this day has had for me which is a level of realism, lucidity and presence that is utterly chilling. Its paradoxical because its seemingly a small difference in imaging. But that small difference bumps it into a level that disqualifies everything under $20K. Id really love to know where it goes from here. I know for a fact they could have taken this unit farther, because I sensed it then I asked the owner. This puppy is at the starting line of a different level. Clearly someone understood this level to place this DAC just inside it. and for $13,500 its admission into Uber DAC level. By the way Rockna developed the i2s for PS Audio.. As far as transport, I dont normally use transports to compare transport only, I can treport however one night things were sounding forward and aggressive to the point, I went to transport for relief. I used AES to Rockna DAC. I was instantly slammed with density of tonality to a point that clearly defined those words to me. It was like sonic thickened up. She became zaftig and fertile from bony and stark. It was a heavy shift. I will try to recreate it because it was defining in nature, it was so noticeable.
I’ll say this one time and any other statement in opposition to this is just wrong or uninformed, or naive in my opinion.
Music will sound its best in its native recorded format PERIOD. Its why I own Reel to Reel tape players, so I can listen to Floyd on TAPE. Hendrix, Zeppelin, my faves.. Native format If you cant do the tape then do the original transfer rate or the digitally recorded master rate. Anything else is a stroke job to get you to buy something. 16/44.1 sounds so good in my rig, I am not even aware that another format exists and my rig plays them all indiscriminately whenever it comes across them in the library. so DSD and high bitrate PCM come in and out during listening without my knowledge.
I found myself digging for my old DAC/s and so my Wadia 16/44 DAC with AT&T Glass optical input and my TEAC VRDS 20 Transport will be brought into the mix along with my old MBL DAC.. lets really vet some of the old dogs.. I’ll net they are not as bad as we all thought gotta sleep .. goodnight !
Today I got one of my clients to drop off a PS Audio Direct whatever DAC so I can finally talk about this thing which I dont like but never speak to that because Ive never had it in my rig. I am fully anticipating to be able to talk smack about PS Audio after my tests and Im hoping to drive my feeling home that PS Audio is Mid Fi at best.
How neutral and open-minded of you, Mike! Seriously, if you really want to hear what the PS Audio DirectStream DAC is capable of, you need to make sure it has the latest "Redcloud" OS installed. You will also want to change out the stock fuse for a quality after-market fuse, which is a PITA, but well worth it. You also need to use the DAC's I2S input, which sounds worlds better than its USB input (if you do not have a source with an I2S output, try a Matrix X-SPDIF 2 D-to-D converter, which is what I use). Finally, this goes without saying, but you should level-match the PS Audio DAC with whatever you are shooting it out against, as the PS DAC's output voltage is a good bit lower than standard.
If you do all of the above and go into the experiment with an open mind, you just might be surprised at what you're hearing.
@mikepowellaudio - I find your comments about PS Audio curious, since you’ve never "had it (the Direct Stream whatever) in your rig." You’re but another guy with an big opinion on the inter-webs....BUT I’d be interested in why you’ve come to the conclusion AND what your credentials are to make such statements. Do you have an engineering degree? What makes your opinion any better than mine. You like to type, so prey tell, give us an answer based on facts, and not opinions. There a whole bunch of people who might disagree with you.
It was a nice introduction from a technical viewpoint but Terry did more of a review on the sound quality of the Jay’s Transport compared to other models he owned/reviewed in his system but a very good transport, indeed.
Just so everyone knows, the internal images listed on 6 Moons are not the CD2 MK II, which does not have the rubidium clock.
Srajan states in the review that the photo of the rubidium clock is of the models Jays has and not that it's the CD2. He just wanted to show the differences in the models. He even mentions the CDP-3 with the onboard Soekris R2R converter.
The purpose of his review was to compare a CDT to his reference iMac setup, both fed to the same DAC with similar cabling, and the Jay's Audio CD2 acquitted itself in flying colors compared to a PC set up.
He said that the CDT was like having zero NFB whilst the iMac seemed to have about 10db NFB, making it drier and tighter. The CDT was more elastic, fluid and airy, and that was what he was trying to suss out.
More press would be nice but the current craze is for PC and I don't see many review mags and sites running to try this one out. Their loss, and ours and others who don't/won't know better.
Thanks for the update and I'm looking forward on implementing Jay's CD2 MK II into my system and I am glad for the few that took a chance and inspired others to consider...
nonoise... the dilemma was trying to get through that so called review without wanting to slit my wrists first,or maybe sticking a hot poker in my eye just to relieve my mental anguish.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
