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Resolving CD Transports Crowd Sourcing

Hi everyone! A couple of years ago I purchased my endgame CD transport- a Pro-Ject CD Box RS2T. Loved almost everything about the unit--highly resolving presentation, dead quiet background, balanced placement of instruments in a believable 3 dimensional soundstage, and  the synergy it had with my components. In fact I loved the transport so much I had two of them because Pro-Ject quality control and customer service is the pits. After almost a year of hassles, I'm swearing of Pro-Ject.

I'm in the market for a replacement CD transport that has the same qualities of the Pro-Ject minus the quality issues and customer service.

PS Audio, Jay's Audio, CEC, Audio Research (which are CD/DAC units) come up in my search. What are your thoughts? With all the bells and whistles the Pro-Ject was around $3300, so that gives you an idea of my budget, though I could go higher.

Thanks in advance!

128x128wharfy

Showing 3 responses by stuartk

stuartk
2,422 posts
 

@wharfy

Two comments re: the Jay’s CDT2MKIII:

1) You can buy a spare drive from them if you’re concerned about longevity.

2) I found it a bit forward sounding in my system, with my existing IC’s and footers. Once I swapped them out, everything came back into balance. I’ve been extremely happy with it. 

 

stuartk
2,422 posts
 

@wharfy

Yes, but I’m not able to comment on that unit’s sound because I simply could not deal with its small dimensions -- I found it so impractical that I quickly reboxed it and sent it back to TMR. Therefore, I spent very little time listening. For whatever it’s worth those who’ve heard both seem to consistently favor the pro-ject’s sonics, so I’m an outlier.

I have my system pretty well dialed in at this point and have no complaints about resolution but keep in mind I’m quite sensitive to any hint of fatigue or forwardness and am willing to sacrifice a modicum of resolution for the sake of musicality. If resolution is a top priority, the pro-ject or the Jay’s CDT3MKIII might be better choices for you.

If TMR still sells pro-ject, you could take advantage of their return policy, keeping in mind the fact they’ve begun charging a restock fee. Good luck!

 

 

stuartk
2,422 posts
 

@charles1dad

Thanks!

Acquiring the Jay’s initiated a learning curve involving a very high level of frustration stretching over several months but I once I managed to restore tonal balance (thanks to recommendations by forum members), I began to really appreciate what it brought to the system.

@wharfy

I didn’t have any issues with my Moon 260 but the Jay’s is significantly more resolving.

 

 

 

 

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