@tony1954 Now that's a great picture! Thank you for sharing that with me.... As great as the silver looks, I think I would opt for the black to keep in fitting with the rest of my system.
@baylinor I appreciate you comment very much! How have you been enjoying yours?
How does it compare sonically with other transports that you might have experience with?
I would be starting out using the coax output. Which digital output have you been using? How would say the sound utilizing the coax output is?
I keep reading how the Jay's Audio transport is built like a tank! I wonder how the display holds up though? Any issues with the quality of the display at all?
Thank you and best wishes,
Don
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@jackd "I own both a CDT2 and a CDT3 both in black and the finish is first rate."
Thank you! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear!
How have you been enjoying yours?
Best wishes,
Don
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@jackd Thank you for your reply! It’s great to hear that you love both of the Jay’s transports even though you feel the CDT3 is better.
Would you be able to share with us what you like better sonically about the CDT3 over the CDT2?
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@baylinor Thank you for your reply! I’m very excited to hear that yours has been trouble free and that you’ve been enjoying it so much! I bought Acoustic Zen’s top coax cable the copper foil Absolute 75ohm 1.5 meter. I use the AZ Absolute cables throughout my system and have really enjoyed what they do, so I’m hoping the digital coax will be great as well 😊
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me 👍 It helps push me in the Jay’s direction.
Best wishes,
Don
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@mbmi Hello and thank you for your reply. I’m curious why you say to go for the CEC TL-5?
Have you compared the CEC with the Jay’s Audio transport?
What is it about the CEC that betters the Jay’s?
How do they differ sonically?
I actually am very open minded and I genuinely want to understand everyone’s opinions.
Thank you and best wishes,
Don
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@iflyhd Thank you for your reply! It’s awesome to hear that you feel the black finish is great! I think I will also choose the black as well.
You had mentioned that even though the I2S works great, you actually prefer the aes output. I’m curious if you had an opportunity to try the coax output?
Do you think that the quality of the cable is possibly more important than the actual digital output being used? I’m just wondering 🤔
Thanks again for sharing your experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@8th-note I love your moniker 👍
I truly appreciate your comprehensive reply!
It's interesting that you described the black finish as having a navy blue hue vs charcoal black. I haven’t heard that before. Regardless, as long as the finish is top notch, that’s what I’m looking for. Does the navy blueish finish look out of place with your other black components?
I loved reading your comparison of the Teac and the Jay’s. It’s interesting that there is not much of a sound difference between the two and that you find the dac plays a much larger role in the sound quality. This makes me wonder if there would be much of a sonic improvement of using the Jay’s over me just using my vintage Rotel 955ax cd player as a transport? I know this might be received as a silly question, but I’m just being honest and I admit that all of this digital stuff is new to me.
Another sincere question… I have ordered a new LTA AERO dac. It’s a NOS with no filters that I’m aware of. Will my new Aero dac reap any sonic benefit by using the Jay’s 176 upsampling?
Thank you again for your comprehensive reply and sharing your very valuable thoughts and experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@mbmi Thank you for your reply! I appreciate you sharing your additional thoughts regarding the CEC transport. I’ve read some great things about CEC. Oftentimes, people commenting on the “analog” nature of its sound.
Although I have also read some people feeling that it might soften the transient attacks of the notes and smoothing it out too much. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on that.
What other transports have you compared with the CEC?
I would say, the Jay’s, CEC and Teac (in no specific order) are the only ones on my radar at the current moment.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me.
Bedt wishes,
Don
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@oddiofyl Thank you for your reply!
I’ve been reading great things about the Teac, both here as well as on other forums. I’m open to both top loaders and trays, but have heard some feel that the top loaders may be a little more reliable in the long run. I personally have no idea, but I do know that Teac has a fantastic reputation!
I can honestly say that the Teac is definitely on my short list. I’ve been basically always a vinyl guy over the last 50 years (and that is not going away for me) so I’m still trying to learn about the digital side of things.
A big thank you to you and everyone for sharing your thoughts, experiences and for helping me learn 😊
Best wishes,
Don
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@jackd Hello and thank you for your reply! You have the unique experience of having been able to compare both the CDT2 and CDT3 side by side which is invaluable! Thank you for taking the time to share your impressions with me and the others here.
Obviously, what you have heard are very desirable sonic traits to me. On the one hand, trying to pony up the additional $2500 to get that is something to be considered and it's nice to know that if a person wasn't able to hear them side by side as you have that it is likely that person may be perfectly happy with the CDT2!
As I have mentioned. I've been a strictly vinyl guy for roughly 50 years. The thing that has kept me away from digital is that it oftentimes sounds hard and 2-dimensional to me. The performers have sounded like cardboard cutouts vs live human beings with flesh on the bones, so to speak. Naturely, it is my hope that digital has improved greatly over the years, but if these are still the sonic attributes, it will be very difficult for me to throw much more money towards this medium.
I've have the LTA Aero Dac on order... should be here in about 3-4 weeks. It is supposed to sound good for the $4000 outlay, some even say it punches above its weight class. I have no idea... but I can say the fine folk at LTA are absolutely wonderful to work with!
So, I'm just trying to figure out which dedicated cd transport would be best suited for this dac. Would the CDT2 be perfect for it? Is this dac worthy of the CDT3 - meaning will it make much of a sonic difference spending the $5K vs $2500 on the transport? Or would I need to have a much better dac to reap the benefits?
Also, taking a step backwards... will I notice a huge sonic benefit by having the CDT2 over that of just using my vintage Rotel 955ax cd player as a transport?
Thanks again for sharing you thoughts, experiences and any advice you can give me 
Best wishes,
Don
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@tekaudiospecialties1 Thank you for your reply! I'm curious if the CDT2mkIII benefitted from the external clocking device?
Thank you for sharing you experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@pindac Thank you for your replies! Yes, I had also noticed said members discussion on another forum as well, regarding the Teac transport. The external clock that he has used with the Teac cost multiples of that of the transport and just really doesn't make financial sense for someone looking for a relatively affordable cd transport solution.
Granted there must be more affordable clocking devices, but this is all so new to me that I wouldn't have a clue as to where to begin with this. Ideally, I would just like to have an affordable cd transport that does it all without having to have multiple boxes or to have to spend multiple amounts of money.
Please share with us as you learn more as you continue on your journey!
Best wishes,
Don
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@mbmi Thank you again for your reply! I have also heard that a top loader may be more reliable in the long run and it certainly makes sense to me. It’s interesting that you mention the stabilization and weight being instrumental in improving the sound as I have heard various Jays Audio owners make similar claims as well.
Thank you for sharing your experiences with me! I’d love to be able to have a home trial of both the CEC and the Jay’s but I’m not sure that is even an option?
Best wishes,
Don
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@tekaudiospecialties1
I appreciate your replies!
So the CDT2 and CDT3 utilize different clk’s?
Please forgive my ignorance… I don’t understand when you say “you generally don’t want to double up sample in a system”. The LTA AERO is a NOS Ladder type dac and as far as I am understanding, this dac does not upsample. So wouldn’t it only be the CDT2 or the CDT3 doing the upsampling?
I loved your anecdotal story, by the way👍
Do you offer in-home trials for the Jay’s transports?
Thank you and best wishes to you!
Don
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@jackd Thank you for your post. What you say makes sense to me. So, in my case it would only be if the transport would offer the upsampling, which both the CDT2 (via remote) and the CDT3 (via switch on the back panel) do allow. I appreciate you helping me understand!
@tekaudiospecialties1 Do you offer in home demo' or trials of the Jay Audio transports?
Thank you and best wishes to all,
Don
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@sgordoxyz Thank you for your post! It is excellent to hear that you are getting great results with the CDT2 and you Terminator! I'm also glad to hear that you are loving the black finish. After reading all of theses post regarding how nice the black finish is... I will opt for the black as well as it will fit in nicely with the rest of my components.
I'm curious if you have tried the various digital outputs and if you noticed any sonic differences between them?
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@fthompson251
Hello and thank you for your reply.
Yes, you are absolutely correct. Not only is the Aero missing aes, but also the IS2 output that many people enjoy.
However, even with that being said, the Aero has been highly thought of by many, and it has been said that its sound reproduction punches well above its weight class.
Im thinking I will use the coax for cd playback and the usb from streaming at some point in the future.
Also, at least in my case, digital will be my secondary source of music, so I’m not too worried about not having every available input connection type.
Thank you again for your post 👍
Best wishes,
Don
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@ja_kub_sz
Hi! Thank you for helping me understand that only the Jay’s Audio transports do the upsampling and the Aero simply receives that 172khz and does not upsample any further.
I have learned that both the CDT2 (via remote) and the CDT3 (via switch on the back panel) upsample to 172khz 👍
Im curious, I noticed in your photo that you have the Jay’s on a middle shelf. Does that make it difficult or inconvenient for you when switching out cd’s?
Which Jay’s transport are you using?
How does it sound with the Aero and which digital out are using?
Best wishes,
Don
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@ja_kub_sz
Thank you for your comprehensive reply!
That sounds like some impressive praise for the LTA AERO dac! You’ve got me pretty excited for me to receive it 👍
I also appreciate your comments regarding the Teac and additional clock. Lots of good for thought.
Best wishes,
Don
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@tekaudiospecialties1 I'm still trying to ascertain whether or not the Jay's CDT2 and the CDT3 utilize the same OCXO clocks and if not, how do they differ?
Thank you and best wishes,
Don
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@stuartk Thank you for your comment. Obviously, for the amount of money we stick into this hobby, I want the system to look nice. However, I don't get obsessive about it. Ultimately, I want to get the best sound that I can from my limited budget.
By the way, I was looking at the photos on your system page. You have a very lovely home and I love your dog.... looks like a golden retriever?
My golden loves to listen to music with me. I love him like a son
Best wishes,
Don
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@stuartk "I don't know if this matters to you but I find the writing difficult to read on the black face. Not really an issue if you use the remote but a difference from the silver face, all the same." You do bring up a good point. Although, I do seem to like the contrast of the silver buttons on the black face... I think it looks nicer as to my eyes, at least, it sets it off nicer. The silver buttons on the silver faceplate blends in. I'm guessing over time, I will learn to remember what each button will stand for.
@liquidsound I'm glad to hear that you feel the black finish is very nice! If I get the Jay's, I have decided to get it in black 
Thank you both for your sharing your comments with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@ja_kub_sz How do you like the LTA Aero compared to the Mola Tambaqui?
Best wishes,
Don
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@ja_kub_sz Hello and thank you so much for your reply! Yes, indeed... I found your comments to be very helpful.
It seems as though you’ve been enjoying a very nice dac spree of sorts! Have you had the opportunity to try any of the Mojo Audio dacs? I’m curious where you think they would slot into place here or how you felt it would compare to the Aero?
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me!
Best wishes,
Don
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@ja_kub_sz I have read that people have been really enjoying the sound from the MU2.... but at 3-4 times the price of the LTA Aero, I would certainly hope it would offer great sound.
You have been blessed to be able to listen to so many dacs/streamers in house and to be able to compare them against other gear you already own. I greatly appreciate being able to hear about your thoughts and experiences and live vicariously thru you
Best wishes,
Don
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