Resolving CD Transports Crowd Sourcing

@wharfy :

Did you have an opportunity to audition it in your system before purchase?

I did not. Because I could not in the case of Jay's Audio CDTs. But I did my own research, I created a short list of possible candidates, some of which I was able to audition, some not. Then I took the leap of faith. 

And honesty, even you already have a shortlist, it will be practically impossible to audition everything in your list. Unless you wait a very long time. What I was trying to say is that whatever recommendation you get from other people (like myself included) here, it is helpful to the extent of helping you to build a list for considerations. We all hear differently, have different tastes in sound, so take it all with a grain of salt IMHO

@wharfy

One of the great discoveries I made via streaming was this Dexter Gordon gem.

Dexter Gordon Featuring Joe Newman. It’s not a particularly great recording, with some questionable editing of songs. But the musicianship is top rate

Thanks David . Newman is a 1st rate jazz trumpeter but in my opinion, under appreciated. I feel the same way about Kenny Dorham whom I’m sure you are familiar with. I’ll seek out this recording. I’m a huge Dexter Gordon fan.

Charles

I currently own a RS2T. I went through 2 prior units that were faulty. Charles 1 and I went back and forth with posts. He stated 3 strikes and your out. When the earlier units were working they were to die for, my audiolab 6000CDT is a great unit for the money. The RS2T is in a completely different league. It is SUPERB, with a good or great DAC (using now a Meitner MA-1 V2 DAC)  I bought a 3rd from the Music Room, (great to deal with) so far, almost a year, GREAT!!!!  NOTE: TMR told me due to issues the RS2T is on hold with them until further notice.

I am currently thinking about another transport also for another room, so this article is most interesting. Deciding to upgrade a 6000cdt or a benchmark DAC 3b,(which I really LIKE)  in that other room??? Thanks to all that participated.  Now the homework. Thank you

@thyname 

Very few people who buy a transport will care if it plays HDCDs but I wanted to point out the problem because a lot of people read these forums and maybe someone would benefit from knowing that. Berkeley makes the only current HDCD DACs that I know of but many vintage DACs and players have that feature. I also have a Krell KAV 250/2 player that has the HDCD feature.

I have to take issue with your comments about HDCD, however. There are a lot of titles that were recorded using HDCD and a bunch of my favorite artists used the format - Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Neil Young, Van Halen, Grateful Dead, Roxy Music, Dixie Chicks, kd Lang..... I could go on. Besides these well known artists there is a whole audiophile catalog on Reference Recordings that is HDCD encoded. There are also other audiophile labels such as Audio Fidelity and Audioquest that have released dozens of remastered tities using HDCD.

In my experience HDCD discs when played through top grade players and DACs typically sound significantly better than their regular counterparts. I've got 4 versions of CSN's CD including SACD and I like the HDCD version best. One of the reasons that HDCD sounds so good is because the Pacific Microsonic converters were pretty much the best of their time. Another reason is that the studios that invested in the Pacific Microsonics gear, which was expensive, tended to be the better studios staffed with the best engineers. The HDCD process itself gives a little more dynamic range and improves the sound as well. In nearly every case where I have the non-HDCD version vs. the HDCD version the HDCD sounds better. There are a few that I've compared that sound very similar but I've never heard an example where the HDCD is worse.

I have about two hundred HDCD titles out of a collection of around 4,000 CDs which is not a huge percentage but it is still significant. I actively collect HDCD titles because I like the sound of them and I have the equipment to decode them. I probably would have still purchased the Jay's Audio CD3 if I had known that it would not play HDCDs but I was disappointed to find this out after I bought it. It's such a nice piece of gear that will accept this particular fault.

David @wharfy 

I hear you on remastering. “Kind of Blue” is one my favorite recording. I used to own atleast 5 or 6 copies on CD’s but my search ended when I purchased 2011 release on K2HD. Granted, I haven’t heard every digital version but K2HD version is simply stellar.

If you’re a fan of Dexter Gordon, you must consider purchasing this version before they are gone! Once you hear these Blue Note gems, your investment in a high quality transport/DAC combination makes it worthwhile. Alan Yoshida is a master craftsman! 
https://elusivedisc.com/dexter-gordon-a-swingin-affair-xrcd24/