Audiomeca just released a "state of the art" CD transport called "Mephisto II" (a thoroughgoing redesign of the old Mephisto). It features a very large clamping mechanism for the CD (the largest and stablest I have seen) with a modified Sanyo lens. The upper CD platter/motor/lens is mounted in a triangular metacrylite block which is supended in an aluminum housing which is then mounted into metacrylite stand via four adjustable posts. The metacylite stand then narrows down to a smaller sub-stand below and then a platter. Its overall look is very sophisticated: in the same league as Goldmund or other Audiomeca products (lots of chrome and back metacylite). The electronics are (I am pretty sure) modified CEC electronics with "standard" and "direct" RCA outputs and an AES/EBU balanced output. The unit has a separate power supply connected via a 9-pin cable. There is also an unusual "tracking" regulator which helps to read bad or damaged CDs. I bought one of the first 500 Mephisto IIs produced in 1999 and it is by-far the best CD transport in the mid-price category (it costs about $3,500 in France) and even competes with the highest priced units in naturalness and musicality. It has excellent timing, transparency, and reproduces the original recording atmosphere and sonics with a great deal of competeness. With the right DAC it sounds amazingly close to an excellent turntable.
Best ever made & sounding CD transport ?
I owned many different CD transports over the last 11 years. From the Krells, Levinsons, and Wadia to the Japanese makes of Phillips, Sonys and Denon. All very nice and had their strengths. The prices ranged from $1,000 to $4200, (preowned of course) that I paid. Now recently I had purchased a mint preowned Pioneer PD-S 95 Elite Transport for $1300, and I was simply blown away with the results. This machine uses their pattened stable platter mechanism, where the CD is inserted upside down. All I can say this unit is and will be a fixture in my system til the CDs stop spinning. What other great CD transports are out their on the preowned market that you recently purchased?? And compare it to your previous CD transports that you either spent too much money or generally disappointed with because your $149 Fisher with digital output sounded better.
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- 12 posts total
- 12 posts total