Everything mechanical breaks! My “warm sounding”, “built like a tank” Yamaha CDX-1120 from 1989 cannot be repaired since its laser pickup is unobtainable. It had a lovely output when channeled through my 1969 tube-based system. In my opinion, newer units are more likely to read and play almost all of your CDs. I would go for a company that will continue to support its products in both parts and repair.
older CD transport vs newer ones.
I added a fairly inexpensive CD transport to my DCS Rossini DAC/Clock and am shocked how much better it sounds spinning a disc vs streaming it. It's not even a close call. I was thinking of bettering my CD transport and was looking at options such at the Jay's CD transport. There are also options such as Mark Levinson 31.5 which was a 10K unit in it's day. Any thoughts on the best way to go? I get a little worried about one of these older units breaking and not being able to get it fixed.