@pindac i’m not the right guy for such a thread; i only happen to have this clock since i acquired it to optimize my Esoteric T1 turntable. so not knowing about what effect it would have with the transport, i tried it and it blew my mind at the effect. i had no idea. there are others who have looked at low cost clocks and know about that. likely there are already threads addressing this somewhere. i just don’t know these DIY or cheap clocks myself. |
Just got a new CD transport, the TEAC VRDS-701T, to plug into my Wadax dac, to access my 4000 disc CD collection. the price of this transport, $2700 list price, is very modest in the context of my Wadax dac (over $200k in it’s current config). https://teac.jp/int/product/vrds-701t/top Went 9 years now with just streaming. Last 2 days only CD. i’m using the Shunyata Alpha v2 S/PDIF coax cable. https://shunyata.com/products/digital-cables/alpha-series-digital-cables/alpha-v2-s-pdif/ Too digital sounding until I added my spendy Esoteric G1X clock, then it transformed into something very fine. so don’t blame the cable for the result, you cannot judge the cable and transport until they are optimized. if a cable tames a naked transport then it’s also covering up information and it’s opaque. so 2 points. (1) The Alpha v2 cable is very, very good. it’s allowing the clock and transport to be special. is it warm and relaxed by itself? yes, it is when the music is warm and relaxed. it’s never strident.....with the clock in the system. this cable is not, however, a tone control if that is what you are asking for. and (2) a great clock is way more significant than the transport or the S/PDIF cable. this transport/S/PDIF/clock combo is worthy of a cost no object dac. and you likely don’t need a clock as spendy as my Esoteric to get a big boost. |
@soix i wanted (1) the new version of the VRDS transport, and wanted (2) a front loader for my rack. and (3) my Wadax Reference Dac does not have the i2S interface (it does have a proprietary Wadax interface, plus an option for an even higher level Wadax interface for uber spendy Wadax transports). i’m sure that the Jay’s CDT2 Mk3 would have a similar level of performance. my ’guess’ is that the effect of the clock dwarfs any other performance issue. and that the i2S interface advantage over the S/PDIF interface mostly has to do with better clock performance, but at a way lower level than what i ended up with. and ’guess’ my performance is right up there with any transport and any interface.....at any price. i was astonished at the effect of the Esoteric G1X clock (which i had on hand from when i acquired it for my Esoteric T1 turntable). so did not have to add it. my experience here indicates to me that once you get past the basic transport level.....it’s all about the clock. but i'm just one guy with one data point. |
@lalitk this is a bit involved...sorry for the long winded story but it’s not simple. since i got the Wadax Ref Dac and Server early in 2022 and i heard it in my room, in the back of my mind i was musing about a way to be able to listen to my 4000 silver discs again through this amazing Wadax Ref Dac. i have a connection to those discs. i had ripped about 75% of them, but knowing where something is on the shelf is a different more personal experience than remembering the exact name of a particular file and calling it up. and i missed that. but over the last couple of years my focus and funds were focused on upgrading the Wadax, and my other sources (turntables and tape decks), and the obvious transport matches for my Wadax were just too spendy to seriously think about. then this spring Wadax introduced the Wadax Studio Player and system. a lower level of Wadax, with lots of trickle down tech from the big boys. and in a year or so, there will be a dedicated transport released which could be a fit for me. so it seemed more something i might be able to do. https://landing.wadax.eu/studio-player/ then i saw this TEAC transport, it had the VRDS, and was a front loader. i was concerned that it did not do SACD’s, but the more i thought about that, most of my SACD’s are hybrids, and most SACD’s are sourced from PCM, so that issue is not very significant in reality. so this was something in terms of dollars i could do now. and so i did it. yes; the big boy Esoteric transports did catch my attention, but they are in the same price range as the Wadax Studio series, and the interface would not have worked for SACD with my Wadax. it came down to going low and living with the coaxial S/PDIF, or waiting. i had no idea about my clock and whether it would really work since i could not connect my Wadax dac to it. but that turned out to be the huge surprise. when i first heard the TEAC in my system on Tuesday, i was let down a lot. it was very digital and so i was prepared to not like it. then i connected the clock and i was blown away. and these last couple days i’ve been visiting old friends on my shelves and i have to be careful not to get too carried away until i have a chance to play this hand out. it’s really good, but just how good is that? stay tuned. it’s possible this TEAC transport + Esoteric G1X clock +full blown Wadax Ref Dac with Akasa DC cables is as good as it gets. i don’t really expect that to be the case, but before i move up to a better transport, i will find out. |
@pindac the point of my first post was to comment that my inexpensive transport (a little over $2000 new) and inexpensive cable (under $1000 used) were boosted a lot by adding the clock, and my final comment was that likely a clock less expensive than mine would still make a big difference. that it's hard to properly judge a transport or cable without a clock added. there are cheap quality clocks out there and if one wants a very listenable digital performance, you are going to need a good clock somewhere in your signal path. so my actual advice was relevant to the price range of the OP. i brought up my dac as full disclosure and mentioned that even expensive dacs can find happiness with the right cheap complimentary pieces. they are ’good enough’. |
