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Jay's Audio CDT2-MK2

I just received my Jay's Audio transport, about which much has been written in this forum.  I hadn't considered upgrading my Wadia 8 Transport, even after reading @teajay's review of the Jay's transport, but I suddenly started having some issues with the Wadia and figured it might be time to look at something else.  
I have heard the Marantz SA-10 is a great CD player, but I don't need a DAC and I only play Redbook discs, so that player seemed overkill and overly expensive for my needs.  I have also dreamed of owning a Esoteric CD player for many years, but they also cost more than I have wanted to spend on a CD player.  When I read the review(s) on the CDT2-MK2 I became very intrigued, and recently decided to buy one.  
BTW, I noticed on their website they only show silver as a color option, so I decided to send them a message to see if I could get it in black.  To my delight he said yes, so let it be known that it is available in black and that mine is indeed, black.  If you were to ask be how much blacker it could possibly be, I'd simply answer, "none."  None more black.
Anyway, I can tell you one thing that I've learned so far, the color of the unit has nothing to do with its sound quality.  
The sound quality is quite simply the best I have ever heard in my system.  I realize that I'm writing this after a mere three hours of listening, but sometimes components have that kind of impact.  This transport is really amazing. 
I wanted to share my initial impressions right away.  I hope to have something more to say after the unit is properly broken in.  For now all I can say is it was worth every penny spent.   
128x128snackeyp

Showing 6 responses by snackeyp

snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@teajay 
Yeah, it's really great.  This thing is built to last.  Very impressed with it.  
It's odd that there is no instruction manual but honestly I think I know how to use a CD player at this point in my life.  
It's fun to spin redbook again!
Hey, I seem to recall someone wrote about a source where they sell the mechanism that's in this unit for not very much money.  I thought I might like to buy one as a spare while they are still available, but I can't find the post that mentioned this.  Any idea where to find this?  Thanks! 
snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@tooblue 
The DAC I'm using is the built-in DAC on my Lyngdorf TDAI-3400.
I bought a AES/EBU digital cable from Audio Sensibility to link the two.  

@nonoise 
Thanks for the links.  I will check them out.  
snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@hrabieh In my experience the separate transport and DAC set up has always sounded better, but I'm sure there are no absolutes here.  I have no experience with Jay's CDP-2 but I can imagine if it's built to the same standards as their transports it's probably a pretty good player.  
Plenty of high end CD Players include a DAC.  A good transport is a better option for folks who have a specific DAC they want to use for their digital system.  I also have a music server that runs through my DAC, so I wanted to run my transport through the same DAC.  If you have multiple digital sources you want to run through the same DAC it's usually cheaper to buy a stand alone transport.  
If you do buy a CD player that has its own DAC, I recommend choosing one that has digital outputs so that you can bypass their DAC if you find another one you like better.  Some CD players also have digital inputs to allow you to run other source components through the onboard DAC of the player.  This is a nice feature when the player has a state of the art DAC built in.  It allows you to run all your digital through one input on your amplifier for one.  
Another thing to mention is I have had bad experiences with CD player mechanisms failing over time.  The Jay's transport is very well built, so my hope is that it will last longer than some other players I've had (not low end ones btw) that did nothing but disappoint.  
snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@georgehifi 
I purchased a CDM-4 unit from one of the ebay links you sent.  Thanks for providing this info.  
The unit arrived this week and I just have a question.
Is the Jay's Audio unit a modified version of the Philips mechanism?  
The one I received looks a bit different from the one in the CD transport.  I'm wondering if Jay's uses the guts of the Philips mech and has some of their own original parts as well?  I know the clamp is not included in the Philips mech but I'm wondering what else is modified?  
My question is partially meant to make sure I got the right thing, since I will likely not need to use it for a very long time, if ever, and I'm also just curious how Jay's constructed this great transport.  
Thanks for any insight you might have.  
snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
I have no idea why this is even being discussed.  My note about the color is simply related to aesthetics.  I do not believe the finish on the hardware does anything to change the sound quality of the equipment in question.  
I prefer black because the rest of my gear is black.  I like the look of silver components.  I just prefer all of my gear to match.  

snackeyp's avatar
snackeyp OP
455 posts
 
@lordcloud Oh, that makes sense!  Sorry for the confusion.
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