New Jays Audio flagship cd transport

And somebody other than Vinshine to buy it from, it seems.

This transport is based on the CD Pro 2 LF mechanism. Am I wrong in thinking this particular unit is long out of production? What's it packin' that justifies a doubling in price over the Mk.2?

New distributor is just Alvin's business partner through a separate entity.  If you read the info in the link Marvin provided you can see for yourself the differences.  The CD mechanism itself is now selling in the $1k range. 

New distributor is just Alvin's business partner through a separate entity. 

That's right sir. I'll be overseeing the business to make sure it lives up to the expectations :)

Thank you for the support!

Cheers,

Alvin @ Vinshine Audio

Alvin

Are they ready for immediate delivery in both colors?

Damn, looks like a fine piece of kit.  This would clearly push the margins for me regarding investment in a CD transport.  However, I won't dismiss it solely based on cost.  I wonder if it is out for review yet by someone credible who has heard the other Jay's cd transport as well as the Project RS2??

High Fidelity and 6 Moons both have units in for review with the High Fidelity review due in about a week. Alvin advised me that the units are shippable in 7-10 days just like the CDT2. As per usual the 6 Moons preview is up and is added to regularly.

Just posted this on another website - pasting it here:  My Jay’s CDT3-MK3 arrived today - I have it playing as I type - will post a review after I let it break-in a bit, but I’ll share a few quick notes: it played every disc my PS Audio PWT would not play all the way through (but that was less than a dozen discs), it is DEAD quiet - I mean DEAD QUIET, and the build was even more impressive than I thought it would be - I’d even say it is luxurious - the machining is superb - love the way the cd lid slides back; has a heavy duty full function remote, and a nice carbon fiber CD clamp (but will still try the ‘bone’). Initial sonic impressions are very positive - music is freer from the speakers (nice sound staging), sounds great at low levels, so far has a sense of smoothness, lots of detail without etch or brightness . . . so far so good . . . running it AES to a Metrum Pavane L3 DAC. I love the aesthetics and functionality. I ordered it through Todd King, the new US distributor - he also does repairs for Jay’s and Denafrips, nice to have US support. Happy listening!

I've been thinking of buying a Jay's transport but have been unable to figure out how much the duty/tariff is. How do I get in contact with Todd King? 

@egrady You can now buy from within the US.

https://www.tekaudiospecialties.com/jay-s-audio

One of the main differences would be the 10Mhz Clock! That's not to be sniffed at!

I also think you can use this clock as a master for other equipment that support reference clock connectivity hence making it superb value for money.

Not just a CD player - but a Master Clock too.

Ed, that is a nice description of the CDT3. Hello folks, Todd here in TX USA of TEKAudioSpecialties.com. Just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself here. I'm happy to be partnering with Alvin and Beatechnik for the US and Canada, sales and service.

We are still using the direct shipping approach for sales for now as that a) works well and b) saves an extra shipping cost trip. But we'll be determining meanwhile if we need to also stock certain items. Please feel free to discuss anything further, I can also be reached directly at TEKAudioSpecialties1@gmail.com.

Todd was very helpful in arranging my purchase of a CDT2 MK 3. It has already been shipped and I should have it in my hands about ten days after I placed the order. Not bad coming from China. 

I'm pairing it with a Berkeley Alpha DAC 3 using AES/EBU. Can't wait to hear how far redbook CD can go. 

Hello egrady, thank you. Looks like your CDT is out for delivery today in fact :) TK

I placed a order and paid 5 days ago , was told unit was in stock 

still not shipped. Email reply's are 2-5 words max . I was really looking 

forward to the CDT3 but now having 2nd thoughts if this is what I 

have to look forward to if there is ever a issue down the road no thanks 

@a1uc if unit hasn't shipped and having 2nd thoughts just cancel.

Where are you located?  Who did you buy it from?

I just saw this post above 

"Alvin advised me that the units are shippable in 7-10 days

just like the CDT2" 

If this is the case I apologize, but it would be nice if one is told this at time of sale 

Hey @a1uc 

My apologies on behalf of my team. The CDT3-MK3 (Black) was handed to the shipper yesterday. My logistics team will provide the tracking information in approx 48hrs.

Many thanks,

Alvin Chee @ Vinshine Audio

Thank You for the update , again I apologize 

I just thought a in stock item would ship a bit sooner .

Hello folks, Todd here of TEKAudiospecialties.com. Let me apologize please for the confusion a1uc. And BTW your item has shipped.

I need to add a note on the website clarifying the shipping expectations. The site is still somewhat of a work in progress.

And if I may clarify the overall order process- we usually ship direct from the manufacturer. This works well and saves an additional shipping cost, which can be substantial with this bulky, heavy audiophile gear. We may also stock some of the less bulky and more common items as well for convenience.

So once the order is placed and paid we then place it with the manufacturer. There can generally be a day delay in communication due to our time difference. They receive the order, process it and it usually ships in < 1 week (assuming the item is currently available).

It’s been my experience lately as well that the item usually arrives within ~ 1 week or less as well, once shipped.

I do hope that helps.

Todd @ TEKAudiospecialties

BTW the CDT3 is impressive.. it’s very well engineered as a flagship product, quite heavy and built like a tank. The subchassis is precision machined into individual board enclaves, similar to some very expensive other gear.

That said, the CDT2 is not obsoleted either and still also quite impressive for those with less to spend on their system.

CDT3 inside: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lnFujMy1rL5-55WvYEb47o98iFZgg7S8/view?usp=sharing

Just a shout-out that Todd and Alvin have both been fantastic; they have responded to all of my e-mails RE my CDT3 Mk3 in a timely manner, and my unit was promptly shipped with truly outstanding tracking information, and it even arrived earlier than expected. I do need to follow-up with Alvin to see if we can connect the CDT3 to my Metrum Pavane via an I2S connection (which will require a custom cable that, apparently, Vincent can help with).  Again, the CD3 is a sweet transport. It functions flawlessly, and has a wonderful natural, slightly mellow, fulsome, organic sound.

My goal is also to us the RJ45 I2S connection to my Lampizator Horizon 

which will need a custom cable . Really looking forward to receiving the CDT3 

Speaking of RJ45 I2S, I have found a good DDC (eg Gaia or Hermes) to be ~ indispensable in my system. Which also provides RJ45 I2S out, which does seem to sound better generally than HDMI I2S. It's how I feed my Terminator Plus for example. T

Thanks Todd and a1Uc.  a1uc, it'd be great if you could post your progress with the RJ45 I2S connection between the CDT3 and Lampizator.  I plan to buy the I2S module for my Metrum Pavane L3 dac, and Todd noticed it seems to have an RJ45 port, as does the Jay's, so I am hoping that connection will work - BUT WHAT RJ45 (that is, ethernet) CABLE SHOULD I BUY?  So many options . . . any input on this front would be greatly appreciated - I will not have time to different ones, so feedback from folks with experience would be GREATLY appreciated : ). Happy 4th!

Btw, the pinning appears to be different between the Jay's CDT3 and the Metrum Pavane . . . still working on it, but it might require a custom cable to get that I2S connection . . . will update as we work this out. 

You're welcome Ed. Looks like your Metrum application will need an adapted pinout RJ45 cable to work. Todd

I have all my tools for making a RJ45I2S at my other home

I will be there in a week , I’m going to use AES till then .
Looks like I might see my CDT3 today

Right on : ). I just got the pin information so I can do the same - the pinning for the Metrum Pavane DAC and Jay's CDT3 are very different, but with the info from both makers in hand now (thank you Metrum and Jay's!) I am ready to go.  May I ask, what cable are you doing to use to make your RJ45I2S?  

I'll use CAT 6 that I have if your buying some get CAT7 

Got my CDT3 today ! 

That's great news, congratulations :) How's it sounding? Todd

Out of box amazing !

👏 👏 I hop you enjoy! Todd

Right on a1uc - have fun with the CDT! : )   If you, or anyone, have suggestions for specific CAT7/8 cable one can buy in bulk I am all ears.  I am looking at DH Labs  "Reunion CAT8", and Audioquest  "CAT700 Carbon" . . . that is kinda all I am finding  . . .  

I made a cable tonight for CDT3 RJ45IS and will be 

comparing to AES , I report back in a couple days 

Anyone use Upsampling on CDT3 ? 

I've often used upsampling with the CDT2 feeding an NOS DAC downstream.

Seems what we probably should avoid is though, upsampling in the CDT followed by upsampling again in the DAC.

The AES output on the CDT3 is excellent but RJ45I2S is superior. 
I would say these are the (2) best outputs

I’d like to thank "Todd tekaudiospecialties " Vincent " and crew for the great service and support .

Jay’s Audio CDT is a excellent transport !

Good to know you got the RJ45I2S to work with your DAC - motivates me to do the same.  I have a NOS dac (Metrum Pavane), so upsampling on the transport is fine in my set-up.  Upsampling does sound a bit different - too early to say much, but my initial impression was a bit more air and extension on top, maybe slightly more incisive sound - I'll chime in once I know something for real ; )

Upsampling can be a deep topic for sure. One problem with NOS at 44K1/48K frequencies is, the waveform starts to look bad as we go up in frequency. Really bad in fact by 20KHz for example as there are only 2.x sample points available per cycle at 44K1 FS. Could we draw the desired exact waveform through only those 2.x points? Seems problematic..

Some will argue that it’s ok, the FS components are above the audio band and thus don’t matter audibly. In a perfect case with a perfect NOS stair case waveform that is ~ true. Ignoring what ultrasonics might also do to the downstream components. But in the real world the stair case waveform can be imperfect (often is), which could/does put unwanted frequency content tones down into the audio band. This all adds up to raising the noise floor dynamically.

Perhaps even worse, there are beats that come in- the waveform is also amplitude modulated (ackk). My theory is, this could be a part of why old (current?) CD audio tended to have the timing/rhythm messed up vs analog.. Next time upsampling, try and see if it affects the music rhythm or not.

For those interested take a look at http://www.mother-of-tone.com/cd.htm It’s a great resource about CD format.

Higher FS ~ fixes all this basically. Which makes sense as more points gets it closer to an analog waveform. However, upsampling itself is not trivial nor a benign process unfortunately. Seems it’s likely best to avoid double upsampling in a system.

If only we could go back in time and make CD audio at least 96K FS.. The world has suffered from 44K1 FS.. /Lament

Early on I had the then new CD walkman, the first, the D50. Made a suspended carrier thing to use it in my car audio system (it would skip if you breathed on it, so much for the "walk" part lol). It’s probably still laying in a box around here somewhere. https://onlythe80s.com/238/sony-discman/ My gosh the truth is early CD sounded abysmal lol.. "Perfect sound forever", they crowed.. indeed.

Anyway, at the end of the day may the best sounding config win in a given system :)

I also concur that RJ45 I2S generally seems to sound a little better still IME vs HDMI I2S, for whatever reasons. TK

Thanks Todd, when I get time I will do some 'real' listening with & w/out upsampling with me Pavane and let you know what I find : )

Upsampling on a CDT2? I did not know that was available. Not sure if I would use it, but it seems to be worth a try.  I have the CDT2-MK3.  I’ll have to take a closer look at my remote.

Have any of you played with this? Is there any further discussion about this somewhere?

Thanks,

Toolbox149

Yes, CDT2 Mk3 has it. And yes, have used it :) The "program" button (if I recall correctly) will switch it to 4x. You'll see the display change accordingly. I would only use it with an NOS DAC downstream though. TK