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Reference Transports: An overall perspective

Teajay did a great job by starting a threat called "Reference DACS: An overall perspective."
I thought it might be beneficial to start a similar thread on transports.
Unfortunately I really have nothing much to say; I just hoped to get the ball rolling.

I'll start by throwing out a few names and a question:

Zanden 2000
CEC TL-0X
Metronome Kalista; T2-i Signature; and T2-A
Esoteric P-01; and P-03(?)
EMM Labs CDSD
47Labs PiTracer
Weiss Jason
Accustic Arts Drive 1
Ensemble Dirondo
Wadia 270se

I know that there are very few companies that actually make the drives themselves. The few I know about are:
Philips
TEAC
Sanyo/CEC

Do the various Philips drives or the TEAC VRDS transport mechanism each have a particular sonic signature regardless of which maunufacturer uses them in their designs?
exlibris
henryhk
648 posts
 
& u can always have a back up hard drive
arkapp
1 posts
 
Tottally agree - XL-Z999ex is really one of the greatest. But there is sth much better on the market - XL-Z1000. I have both of them (100V version), so I had possibillity to compare. Based on my observation, using digital (RCA) connection between both and DAC from XL-Z999ex. Sonically huge difference - bigger, quiter, more stable sound, wider sceene, much more details. Even power cable - integrated version gives possibility to use separate one (NBS Monitor0), in transport case - there is one built in.
grateful's avatar
grateful
104 posts
 
This tread has been dead a long time, I'd like to give it a bump due to much has changed since the last post.

Personally, I replaced a Accustic Arts Mk ii transport with the PS Audio PerfectWave PWT Transport. Much more open and transparent with tighter bass response and more actual timber of strings.

What are other's experience with the PS Audio PerfectWave PWT Transport or any others?
mrtennis
3,295 posts
 
hi grateful:

i too have the ps audio transport. its advantage is that the disc disc is fed from ram to the dac. it does not spin while you are listening to the music.

it is , however, highly sensitive to the digital link.

it is hard to judge the sonic attributes of the pwt because there is a dac connected to it. when i connect a tube dac i hear a tube like soun, wheras, when i use the ps audio perfect wave dac, the sound is very much as you describe.

i use a harmonic tech hdmi digital cable with the ps audio dac and coax with a tube dac.
nglazer
845 posts
 
I am sticking with my RAM - modded CEC TL-1x, recently refreshed and updated by Nick at True Sound with a new belt, etc. AES/EBU output through Sextet digicable to W4S DAC2 (which replaced a Dodson DAC). Can't see why I would want to replace this elegant, smooth operator, dead reliable beauty, or move to computer audio(ugh!). Call me a Luddite -- but a musically satisfied one.

Neal
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