What transport for my Birdland DAC?

I am using an Altis CDT3 with my Odeon AG. It has a BNC output, which is great with the Odeon AG, since you can throw away the cheap adapter. The Altis is discontinued, but was a $5000. transport several years ago. It is a bargain when you can find a used one.

Excellent news! I always worry about steering somebody into a bad deal out here. I wish I had made an offer on one of the two Jades that were out there. I need an upgrade myself, and the Jade is appealing to me because the modern Theta's all come with video circuitry that doesn't interest me. I'm sure another will be along soon enough.

Happy Listening.

Tom

Tfkaudio,
Hey, thanks for the tip on the Theta Jade. I love it! I've been playing it for 3-4 days now and I can only say the sound is stunning. So much info was getting lost or muddled up with the Nad. Amazing difference. Yes I know it costs 8 times the price of the Nad, but that's what money is for isn't it?
Simply a huge upgrade here.
Scott.

I definitely want to know how you like it. Funny thing, though... I saw on the Theta web site that the Jade was introduced in 1997. Seems too early. Further web searches show nothing before 1999. It's a good bet that they didn't start shipping in quantity until 1999, so hopefully your unit has lots of life left in it. If it's anything like mine (and it should be better), you're gonna like it.

Tom

Tfkaudio,
Thanks for the info. I just bought one of the Jades. Good to know the age as the seller thought maybe 5 years or so.
Sould be here in a week or less. Will let you know what I think.
Thanks, Scott.

Hello,
I recently called Theta and asked them about servicing my Data II and they said "no problem". They did warn me that it sounded like it needed a new laser and that costs 350 dollars. But it is reassuring to know that they will still gladly service a product that was introduced to the marketplace 12 years ago.
As for the Jade, I believe it was introduced in 2000, so the good news is that you will be buying, at most, a 4 year old player.
Good luck.

Tom

P.S. I noticed there are now 2 Jade's out there in the classifieds.

Tfkaudio,
Maybe I will take a shot at the Theta Jade after all. Can you tell me, is the company still servicing their older products? Just in case. Do you know how old the Jade is? Of course I will ask the owner too.
Thanks, Scott.

Bombaywalla,
Thanks for your input and link. I will just say I see a little clearer now and leave it at that.

I try not to duck in and out. I'm just really busy doing mods, so I cannot always follow-up.

Modders have the opportunity to compare lots of different DAC's and players, much more than the average person, so I just wanted to share that this is a great DAC stock and even better modded. However, because it has potted analog section, this cannot be improved and therefore will never compete with the best DAC's for HF extension and dynamics. It is a very good value and relatively cheap to mod compared to it's competition. Most of what is in the DAC design is executed very well.

Abbeydog,

Sorry to steal your thread w/ this digression but I have been equally peeved w/ "audioengr" making 1-line recommendations & then exiting w/o providing any explanations! I have noticed this on AA & A'gon now for a long, long time. I have to admit, Audioengr doesn't do this 100% of the time but he does it enough times that one notices & gets annoyed.

Many here might or might not visiting Audioasylum so for those of you who do not know, "audioengr" = Steve Nugent of Empirical Audio in OR. Over on AA, the moniker "audioengr" has a (M) beside it so it is easy to see the identity BUT over here on Audiogon, the schmuck doesn't write any disclaimers about his being the owner/proprietor of Empirical Audio, which I think is unethical as I feel that all of us users would like to know this fact. Also, if you have followed any of the cable discussions on Cable Asylum in year 2003, you'll note that Steve made a # of remarks w/o substantiating them (what a surprise!) & many times got run out of the room.
I was poking around & found this article on the Sony DVP7700 that Audioengr recommends so heavily over on AA & even here:
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue13/empiricalmods.htm
In the end, Audioengr's products & work might be good but I am completely turned off by the guy & the way he chooses to operate. I read that Abbeydog was bristling too & thought that this might be an opportune moment to highlight some info re. Audioengr. Once again, sorry to steal your thread Abbeydog.
Audioengr: I hope that you mend your ways & operate more in a full-disclosure mode. All of us here would appreciate that. I also hope that you will stop making empty recommendations. Otherwise, I agree with Abbeydog, be gone!

Tjkaudio,
I like the Birdland very much. I especially like using it straight into the main amp of the Nad C370. This is startlingly clear and I have not missed the dynamics that others have cited as lost in this mode. Of course the Nad has a less then stellar pre ( or so I have been told) and if I had a superb preamp to compare then we could see. Works out great here though.
The reason I wanted a new trans was I didn't feel that I was getting the most from the dac using the Nad 321i as trans. However now I find after installing Audio Points that I may need a new amp first. Of course I need both.
Cec is a little too pricey I think but I have also decided to look at the Theta transports. Good price point and well reccomended. Thanks for the input guys!
Scott

Hello,
I've got a Birdland Odeon-Ag with the reclocker, too. Here's what I got running into it:
1) Sony CDP-CX400 jukebox via TOSLink
2) Theta Data II Universal LD/CD transport via coax RCA
3) Berendsen CDP-1 via BNC.

(I have to swap the adapter from RCA to BNC to switch between the Theta and the Berendsen)

Here's the straight dope. They all sound great, but the old Theta wins hands down. Even though it's 10 years old and needs a laser replacement (it's starting to reject some discs that it used to play), it's the clear winner. When I comparison swap between transports, it is with the Theta that I find myself tapping my feet and forgetting to do the next swap. I see there's a Jade out there for $1200 obo. See if you can get it for a grand. (If I don't get if first).
How do you like your Odeon-Ag, by the way? I love mine.

Cheers.

Tom

Audioengr,
Okay, thank you for the post but, this is at least the third time I have seen you post with a cryptic, "nothing can beat this whatever modded".
What gives man? Are you promoting your own mods or others?
Please come forward with the details, or give it up man. If you have constructive suggestions I for one would like to hear them. The point is, call it out, or stop wasting post space.

Who does the modding, Audioengr, Birdland?

Birdland DAC's are very good stock, but can approach world-class when modded.

CEC is thew best for you.

Abbeydog, my ideal set up is the Belles 150 amp into NAD CD player into Birdland into speakers.

Unfortunately, my NAD won't output PCM data when watching dvds, which makes it impossible to listen to dvds in this set up. So I've had to use my NAD T752 as a pre-amp, for now, changing the chain to NAD CD > BIRDLAND > NAD PRE > BELLES AMP > SPEAKERS

I plan to remedy this situation with my new Philips 963, which I *think* does output in PCM, so I'll be able to have a much purer signal chain.

I'm going to listen to the Philips for a while and then decide if I want to get it modded.

re:audiopoints. Let me know how the speaker points work out for you. I'm using BlueTac between the Europas and the Osiris stands for now. I"m also using sorbothane footers under the amp and the CDP, but I'm very interested in trying Black Diamond stuff, again, per Roy's recommendation.

This might be only partially relevant 'cuz I have a completely diff. system than what is being discussed here. However, my CDP also has the option of going direct to the amp.
I played around for a couple weeks with direct to the amp vs. thru my tube pre. What I concluded was going thru the tube pre was significantly better than going direct. I get better bass definition, better midrange & more tuneful high freq. I had to open up my CDP & adjust down the output voltage quite a bit before I got this result.
When I was using the default factory setting even when connected direct to the amp, the dig. vol. control was hovering around 50 (out of 100). This meant that the amp had too much gain. The sound was OK direct & much better than thru the pre. The pre volume control was close to zero!
Reducing the output voltage range helped a lot. The direct sound is significantly upgraded but still a bit lean vs. the thru-the-pre sound. I suppose the tubes give the overall sound that tube character that is so much more appealing.
YMMV. FWIW. IMHO.

Dubzilla,
Actually next I have StarSound products on the way (hello Warren). Audio points for the Dac to replace the gummy bearlike Panda feet that came with the Birdland.
Also the very thin almost waferlike points for between the spkeakers and stands. Should be interesting.
I believe you have a Birdland dac also a C370 nad right? If so, I would be very interested to know if you run straight in to the main on the amp (bypassing the preamp).
Huge difference in clarity and transparency and the only way to go in my experience here. What did you find?
Check your system posts for more.
Scott

Scott, Keep us posted! We have almost identical systems, and I'd like to hear what you've come up with.

Regards, Esfand

Thanks for the responses guys. I will check into those options and do some research on others as well.
Thanks again for your input.
Scott

It is difficult to beat an old Sony DVP-S7700 transport with the right mods. The clock in this one is virtually jitter-free. Better than most new CDP's.

How about a CEC 5100Z.I believe that the model/manufacturer is correct,but if not ,I'm sure another will catch the error.