A phenomenal new CD transport-Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 transport


I have had in-house for the last week Pro-Ject's new CD Box RS2 transport to review for the website Stereo Times. I was very curious to assess its performance because it uses the Pro 8 drive with the Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card. This drive was developed and built by StreamUnlimited a company started by the original Phillips designers that historically built the finest CD mechanisms. Only two other companies use the StreamUnlimited 8 drive and Blue Tiger CD-84 servo card, their pieces cost $16,000 and $39,000 compared to Pro-Ject's sane price of $3,000!

My reference for the last two years has been the excellent Jay's Audio MK-II transport that had out-performed much more expensive highly regarded transports in my system. Well, across every sonic parameter  (transparency/micro-details-overall dynamics/bottom-end extension/purity of tonality- a much more airy sound-stage with wonderful 3D imaging) compared to the Jay's Audio transport.

That's way I titled this thread a "phenomenal new CD transport" because while not inexpensive, it just might be a bargain based on its performance. Mind you, this superlative level of performance is based on using the switching power supply that Pro-Ject ships the transport with. I have shortly coming a custom 20 watt 3 amp linear power supply from Linear Tube Audio and Pro-Ject's own upgraded power supply to see if the RS2 transport performance will even go to a higher qualitative level of performance.

I'll be writing a full detailed review for Stereo Times in the near future. However, I wanted to share this information to GON members who still spin CDs. I have had numerous CD transports in for evaluation and this just might be the best sounding of all of them.

Teajay (Terry London)




amorstereo
What digital cable is everyone using with their Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 transport?
pguezze, from teajay earlier: "First, disc I highly recommend you try the Black Cat Digit 110 AES/EBU cable that retails for $875. It's my reference cable and competes with much more expensive models."  That has been seconded in this thread.  I ended up going a cheaper route -- WireWorld Micro-Platinum Eclipse 8 AES/EDU.  I got it from Walter at Underwood HiFi -- I've purchased several pieces of gear from Walter, including the RS2 transport, and have been very happy with his advice, pricing and speed of delivery.  The WireWorld was a little more than half the price of the Black Cat.  I'm loving it, though I'm sure I'll start dreaming about black cats in a few months.  I tried to find a shoot out of various AES/EDU cables before buying, but had no luck.  Cheers.
@disc thanks so much for the recommendation. I have a full loom of Wireworld interconnects, speaker, and power cords so it probably makes sense for me to stick with Wireworld. 
What length did you get? I’ve read to stick with a minimum of 1.5m. 1.0m would work for me but thinking the 1.5m will sound its best. 
@pguezze mine is 1.5 M, based on what I read here (likely the same threads you found).  I usually go as short as possible, but made an exception.  It's possible teajay or someone else has compared the WireWorld with the Black Cat and will chime in. 
There is a testimonial over at Audio Envy cables where a group of audiophiles tried his Coax cable and they said it bettered the Black Cat and two others. 
Take it with a grain of salt but it only goes for about $150. 

All the best,
Nonoise