I have the VRDS-701T connected to my Titans Audio Lab Cronus Pro Limited Edition 10MHZ masterclock, and the result is phenomenal. I have bought and sold the Esoteric K-01X, which has too much of its own sound even as a transport.
My digital front end is now the Titans Audio Lab Cronus Pro clock --> Titans Audio Lab Thunderbolt clock cable --> Teac VRDS-701T --> Audioquest Diamond Coaxial digital cable --> Titans Audio Lab Helen --> Audioquest Diamond Toslink cable --> Playback Designs MPD-8 Dream DAC. This is the first time in years that I found myself prefer CD playback over my Server or Streamer. I spin CD after CD with a big smile on my face like getting together with an old friend again. I haven't turned on my server or streamer for a month!
I choose the TEAC VRDS-701T mainly for its ability to work with an external masterclock, which boosts the performance of any digital front end to a totally different level. And I am not disappointed, the TEAC doesn't seem to have a voice of its own like the Esoteric. Yeah, sometimes you want your equipment to have a distinct voice, like tube rolling in your preamp to find the flavor you like. But I don't want any flavor in a transport. The TOSLINK before the Dream DAC is there to isolate all electronic noises from reaching the DAC, something Playback Designs insists and I can see their point. The digital signal from a CD transport is only 16Bit/44.1KHz so a good optical cable like the AQ Diamond handles it without audible loss, maybe I should say with audible gain. At the end of the day, CD is not a bad media, it's just not easy to get right, and when you do, it can still sound sublime.
