CD transport importance

[Phil Y]

Hello all,

What does anyone think about this?
Obviously (I assume) a better transport will sound better, but how much. All the attention seems to be on DACs but there rarely seems to be any discussion about how much difference a transport can make. Is this because the answer is "not very much"?

Does anyone have some experience to share?

Regards, Phil.

[Richard]

Hi Phil,

My DAC has 2 remote select-able coax digital inputs so I have a CD player feeding one and Squeezebox Touch into the other using similar cables.

The DAC analogue output then feeds the preamp.

This means I can (and have) compared the CDp digital output playing a disc into the DAC and Squeezebox playing the same digital file (over wifi from the FLAC library on a PC) into the DAC.

The music can be sync'd, then then switching between both is instant and the DAC is the same unit for both sources so a comparison can be made.

(Two CD transports could also be compared this way but I only have one CDp with digital out.)

Anyway, bottom line is I've compared many albums (all my CDs are now in FLAC) and cannot tell a difference between these 2 sources.

I suppose there could be a difference between 2 transports if, say, one wasn't reading as well as the other etc but in my case it seems to show the CDp is working as well as the Squeezebox as a source for the digital stream

[John Caswell]

Hi Phil/Richard,
The digital info comes out of the transport as SPDIF and then the DAC processes it into analogue.
I suppose that if the transport mechanics are improved, then there "may" be a difference, but as the info is reclocked before exiting as SPDIF it would seem to me to be somewhat academic.
I would guess that if the servo mechanism that drives/controls the disc rotation speed has less work to do (eg if your CD is eccentric) then the re-clocking has less to do and also the laser tracking motor has less to do, so there may be an improvement but I have to admit I have never been aware of any differences from from CDs where I have used the raw SPDIF signal.
External DACS are a different kettle of fish and one I am not venturing into.

John

[Phil Y]

Thanks Richard and John,
You have both confirmed what I suspected myself, basically, if what is taken off the disk is reasonably error free then job done.

Phil.

[Richard]

Yes, but dacs can sound quite different as John hints. I've had 3 stand-alone dacs the last couple of years and compared them with each other and with the integrated ones in the CDp and Squeezebox. It was something of a mixed bag of pros and cons with all but one, which has given a good improvement to both players, so well worth a listen if you can buy or borrow them to try.

[Chris]

I have tried different transports with my old Audio Synthesis Dac and found a big difference. Specs do not always give you an indication of how something will sound, it's always best to listen and compare. At one point I was going to buy the Cyrus Signature transport at £1700, but was advised by the dealer that the Cyrus Signature streamer at £1200 was better, I did not get a chance to compare them both but did get the chance to listen to the Streamer in a Cyrus and Kef set-up for just under £20k and the sound was smooth and relaxing.

Chris.

[Greg.]

Yes, Phil, if you are thinking of spending some money, I would strongly advise you to consider changing to a streamed set up. I know you have heard my system streaming my ripped CD's and music through Tidal, but since then I now use Roon and have replaced the RPi with a microRendu which significantly improves performance, so in my view, it's an option well worth considering. In my opinion, my streamed system now sounds far better than any CDP based alternative. You are welcome to have another listen here anytime you wish. Should the computer set up side of things be a challenge for you (as it was for me) I'm sure Nick would be willing to give you a hand.

Next session at your place?

[Phil Y]

Blimey Greg, you don't stand still for long do you !

Thanks for the offer of a listen, i'm sure we will meet up again sometime.

Perhaps I should explain the situation. I am setting up a small second system in my "office" and want to add CD as it is currently radio only with an ancient Sony ST88 tuner that belonged to my grandfather. My first thought was to just buy a cheap CDP, maybe second hand, for that system. I then had the thought that I could move my current CDP from 'transport' duties, to the small system and get a better transport for the living room.

As it would appear that most people seem to think there would not be much to gain, I think I will stick with the original plan. It also needs to be born in mind that I am still chiefly a vinyl user so not going to be spending big money on digital, at the moment anyway.

Richard, I am quite happy with the DAC I have, an Audiolab Q-dac. Not the best around but for my needs it is fine. It was the thought that there may be a cheapish upgrade route that prompted my original question.

Regards, Phil.

[Richard]

That makes sense Phil. I'm mainly streaming these days hence trying out a few DACs and comparing FLAC to CD etc but not heard the Audiolab DAC