# 4 definitely
mod my cdp or newer cd transport or ?? long
I've been using a '90 $435 Philips CD60 since new both as cdp and transport. I recently got a '90 $800 Philips CD80 for cheap, fully functional, perhaps the best cdp of its day: 33 lbs, huge PS, decent parts incl arguably Philips best CD mechanism for build, sonics, and reliability (CDM-1 MkII). As a transport it sounds no better than my plastic-mechanism CD60, mostly because of dark-ages SPDIF 'design'. My '00 $700 Yamaha single-tray CD recorder sounds better as a transport as it has a properly implemented SPDIF, though of cheap parts.
I have a BelCanto DAC2 in a decent system, which is largely insensitive to jitter, but better transports still sound better for other reasons. And excellent digital cables, both glass fiber and coax. I auditioned a Denon DVD-2900 ($1K universal player) that sounded notably better than my Yamaha as a transport, just a taste of what is possible.
So my less-than-ideal choices are:
1) Find someone somewhere to mod my CD80 SPDIF, and maybe other related stuff like clock and PS. Its transport is currently fine, but for how much longer? No luck finding a mod company yet, though I know these units were routinely massaged nicely a decade ago. And they still sound decent as a cdp.
2) Buy a used CD-specific transport, typically mid to late '90s. As I want a good amount of programming and control flexibility, I have limited choices, currently Proceed CDD or Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 -- others? Problem is they all typically use Philips CDM-12 transports which are now beginning to break, and no luck getting repairs from either Philips or the out-of-business manufacturers.
3) Buy a more modern DVD-based or Japanese higher end cdp that *may* sound decent as a CD-only transport. Compromise is in paying for all the overhead of unwanted video and/or multichannel processing at the likely expense of a top mechanism, SPDIF, clocking, layout etc that makes for a great-sounding transport.
4) Say screw it and buy a proper high-end transport ie ML37. But that's way out of proportion to the rest of my system, and I could get a fine cdp for that kind of money.
What to do? I want control flexibility, reliability, great CD sound and availability used <$1K. No kits or one-off boutique manufacturers. Suggestions and experiences most welcome.
I have a BelCanto DAC2 in a decent system, which is largely insensitive to jitter, but better transports still sound better for other reasons. And excellent digital cables, both glass fiber and coax. I auditioned a Denon DVD-2900 ($1K universal player) that sounded notably better than my Yamaha as a transport, just a taste of what is possible.
So my less-than-ideal choices are:
1) Find someone somewhere to mod my CD80 SPDIF, and maybe other related stuff like clock and PS. Its transport is currently fine, but for how much longer? No luck finding a mod company yet, though I know these units were routinely massaged nicely a decade ago. And they still sound decent as a cdp.
2) Buy a used CD-specific transport, typically mid to late '90s. As I want a good amount of programming and control flexibility, I have limited choices, currently Proceed CDD or Sonic Frontiers SFT-1 -- others? Problem is they all typically use Philips CDM-12 transports which are now beginning to break, and no luck getting repairs from either Philips or the out-of-business manufacturers.
3) Buy a more modern DVD-based or Japanese higher end cdp that *may* sound decent as a CD-only transport. Compromise is in paying for all the overhead of unwanted video and/or multichannel processing at the likely expense of a top mechanism, SPDIF, clocking, layout etc that makes for a great-sounding transport.
4) Say screw it and buy a proper high-end transport ie ML37. But that's way out of proportion to the rest of my system, and I could get a fine cdp for that kind of money.
What to do? I want control flexibility, reliability, great CD sound and availability used <$1K. No kits or one-off boutique manufacturers. Suggestions and experiences most welcome.