How Good a CD Transport is Required to Sound Better than Streaming?

Esoteric-CD.jpg
There seems to be a fairly solid consensus (Lucasz Ficus, LL21, Al M, etc.) that CD playback or computer file playback, or perhaps both, sound better than streaming (assuming, of course, that all other variables, including the DAC, are held constant).

But I assume that one cannot assume that any device that can spin a CD necessarily will achieve better sound quality than will streaming.

So how good a CD transport does one need to achieve CD playback which sounds better than streaming? Where do the lines (rising sound quality of better transport and streaming sound quality) cross?
 
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I compared the opus 21 and the cantata 3.0 in cd play-back and opus 21 was as good for half the price .

Then I compared cantato 3.0 Dac vs my Rockna Wavelight with my metronome DSS streamer .The Rockna outperformed the cantata 3.0 in every music type.

The system was Pbn audio Sammy with Pbn audio lxis preamp and ebsa-1 monos.
Unfortunately the Ebsa-1 are not in my system anymore . I have had too much reliability problems with them (hum sound and awful buzz at low volume )
 
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For now the best cd player I ever had in my système was the opus 21 GNSC Reference with some black gates cap for 7500 dollars.

Unfortunately I sold the cd player for the cantata 1.0 in 2011 , it was the big mistake , the cantata 1.0 was horrible and unreliable .
So I kept the opus 21 I had in my second system and the still have it
 
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i've decided to add a CD (only) transport to my system. a main reason is simply to access my 4000 CD's sitting on my shelves in my room. also i'm buying the occasional CD to have the music. but right now no place to play it. sure i can rip it to my hard drive, but decided just easier to add the transport. i have room and a great dac already. and the cost is minimal. no reason not to.

as far as actual performance compared to streaming, we shall see. i expect that the CD performance will be very good with Level 4 Wadax involved.

one driver of this decision is that my server has a dock that can accommodate -4- SATA 870 EVO 2.5" drives. when i bought my server the maximum drive size was 8 TB. so 4 x 8 = 32 TB capacity. however; in 2022 when i acquired my server it was told to me that 16 tb SATA drives would be soon introduced. 16 x 4 = 64 TB. but reality is that COVID supply side effect stagnated that happening. so instead of 64 TB i'm limited to 32 TB. which makes me view my long term plans differently. hence adding the CD player.

while i would have preferred a transport that can do SACD too, the cost would rise X10 to do that, to be able to use the proper SACD interface with my dac. so CD only for now.

i've ordered the Teac VRDS-701T. quality hardware at a reasonable price. getting the VRDS drive at this price was very attractive to me.

i need to acquire a quality rca S/PDIF cable, and maybe move my Wadax chassis around to keep the cable length short. i might be able to use my Esoteric GIX clock with it too. not sure how that works since i won't have the clock connected to the Wadax dac. not anything essential. just have to see.

it just does not make sense to not harness my super dac for CD's too.

in a year or so when the Wadax Studio series adds a dedicated transport which would do SACD's with the proper interface too, i might add that depending on the actual cost.

i'm still a committed streamer. access to high quality new music is what drives that. and access is also what is driving this decision too.
 
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Remember Mike, that hobby-money is no money…LOL… Just add the Wadax transport and look happily ever after… :D ☝!!

/ Jk
 
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Remember Mike, that hobby-money is no money…LOL… Just add the Wadax transport and look happily ever after… :D ☝!!

/ Jk
maybe not.

i'll show that to my dear wife.:rolleyes: i got her to buy off on a $2700 CD transport......but $110k for the Wadax transport.....or however much for the Studio version.......might be a bridge too far. i'm just happy getting this and appreciate it.
 
maybe not.

i'll show that to my dear wife.:rolleyes: i got her to buy off on a $2700 CD transport......but $110k for the Wadax transport.....or however much for the Studio version.......might be a bridge too far. i'm just happy getting this and appreciate it.
Haha, yea man, you are probably right… ;) !
Anyhow.. I wish you happy playing.

/ Jk
 
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@Mike Lavigne
Why didn't you get the Jays Audio CD3 MK3?
i did consider it. but......

1-it's a top loader and my transport will be on a middle shelf.
2-does not have the VRDS disc transport.
3-price similar (to the CD2 Mk3, much less than the CD3, Mk3)
4-my turntable and clock are made by Esoteric/TEAC....and i'm impressed by them.
Don't SPDIF cables have a specific length to reduce reflections. I thought it was a length that was pretty long. Too short can sound worse. Or so I thought I heard.
there are digital cables where the length is fixed, clock cables especially at 1 meter.

i'm in the fact gathering stage right now as far as rca S/PDIF cables. my understanding is .5m or 1m are ideal. but they can be quite long too. which is why i'm planning on moving my Wadax chassis around so the transport sits right above the dac. then i can use any length i determine ideal.

i figure there are some experts who will chime in to help me on this question.
 
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i figure there are some experts who will chime in to help me on this question.
I am definitely not an expert, but here's how I heard it:

A length of 1.5 meters is suggested because it prevents signal reflections, which are due to impedance mismatch, from building up. The RCA connector is the main cause of reflections, because the impedance is not ideal.

I purchased a BNC coax cable from Ben Duncan, who is an expert. I inquired about length and he said to go as short as possible. I believe this was because BNC is a superior connector to RCA, therefore length was a greater concern than reflections.

Take it for what it's worth. :)
 
I am definitely not an expert, but here's how I heard it:

A length of 1.5 meters is suggested because it prevents signal reflections, which are due to impedance mismatch, from building up. The RCA connector is the main cause of reflections, because the impedance is not ideal.

I purchased a BNC coax cable from Ben Duncan, who is an expert. I inquired about length and he said to go as short as possible. I believe this was because BNC is a superior connector to RCA, therefore length was a greater concern than reflections.

Take it for what it's worth. :)
thank you. that helps to understand.
 
TEAC is a curious placeholder choice for any number of reasons I can think of.

Would be a lark if question posited in title received answer through this purchase. To match the times, I'll restate the old acorn as pairing cheap tripod with top quality viewing scope. In experienced hands the results can be highly similar to the sound of two gold coins jangling.

In practice, I'd much rather clean the microscopic particles off long stored discs in a $3K transport. Regardless all high marks being attained.
 
TEAC is a curious placeholder choice for any number of reasons I can think of.

Would be a lark if question posited in title received answer through this purchase. To match the times, I'll restate the old acorn as pairing cheap tripod with top quality viewing scope.
well. i did own this one for a few years. with the 85mm objective module. with an appropriate Gitzo tripod. now just have proper camera lenses. still have and love my Swaro Bino's.

but i think we don't yet know how this (TEAC<->Wadax) match will go. i'm trying to solve a music media access problem on a budget (will be my least used source), don't have any illusions of this being an 'ultimate' solution, but hope maybe that the tool will exceed my expectations. i can help it along with resonance treatment, maybe some mass loading, quality power cord already on hand, a great A/C power grid, and the right rca s/pdif.

making no claims. the price of admission is marginal. not trying to prove CD's are better than streaming, just want to hear my music.
In experienced hands the results can be highly similar to the sound of two gold coins jangling.
you have previously established that you are a skeptic. and that uber digital expenditures offend you.
In practice, I'd much rather clean the microscopic particles off long stored discs in a $3K transport. Regardless all high marks being attained.
not sure where that is going.
 
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I think that totally makes sense, Mike! I have a vintage NOS Pioneer CD player which is considered to be a decent early CD player, and was very inexpensive. I use it solely as a CD transport.

It's just convenient to have CD playback capability, whether for the occasional album one has only on CD or for playing Stereophile test CDs for pink noise and the like.
 
I think that totally makes sense, Mike! I have a vintage NOS Pioneer CD player which is considered to be a decent early CD player, and was very inexpensive. I use it solely as a CD transport.

It's just convenient to have CD playback capability, whether for the occasional album one has only on CD or for playing Stereophile test CDs for pink noise and the like.
i have an extra Oppo BPD-93 disc player i could have used that way that is pretty good. could have connected it analog or S/PDIF. but i wanted the VRDS transport.

my hope is that the Wadax will break the code on high level performance, and that the TEAC will do what it needs to do to feed it. but at this point it's just a hope. not really sure about it.
 
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i have an extra Oppo BPD-93 disc player i could have used that way that is pretty good. could have connected it analog or S/PDIF. but i wanted the VRDS transport.

my hope is that the Wadax will break the code on high level performance, and that the TEAC will do what it needs to do to feed it. but at this point it's just a hope. not really sure about it.
Steve Guttenberg, the You Tube reviewer, recently reviewed it on his channel and was most impressed.... did some compares with an older Oppo, ( much preferred the Teac), and the latest JAYS transport ( preferred the Jays, but said the two were very close in overall performance).
Cheers.....
 
Steve Guttenberg, the You Tube reviewer, recently reviewed it on his channel and was most impressed.... did some compares with an older Oppo, ( much preferred the Teac), and the latest JAYS transport ( preferred the Jays, but said the two were very close in overall performance).
Cheers.....
watched it, thanks.
 
Steve Guttenberg, the You Tube reviewer, recently reviewed it on his channel and was most impressed.... did some compares with an older Oppo, ( much preferred the Teac), and the latest JAYS transport ( preferred the Jays, but said the two were very close in overall performance).
Cheers.....
I believe he compared Jays CDT2 (one behind the latest model CDT3) to the Teac in the video.
 
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there are digital cables where the length is fixed, clock cables especially at 1 meter.

i'm in the fact gathering stage right now as far as rca S/PDIF cables. my understanding is .5m or 1m are ideal. but they can be quite long too. which is why i'm planning on moving my Wadax chassis around so the transport sits right above the dac. then i can use any length i determine ideal.

i figure there are some experts who will chime in to help me on this question.
Congrats Mike on the CD Drive-- having tried numerous Inters'--but not all, between my CEC TL0 /Audio Note Dac 5S and 4.1 Bal, the standout performer with musicality /retrevial/etc was the Black Cat Tomba at 1.5m -- now presented upgraded to the TRON from the "Digital Phase" mind of the late Chris Sommovigo RIP.

You might consider this

BruceD
 
Steve Guttenberg, the You Tube reviewer, recently reviewed it on his channel and was most impressed.... did some compares with an older Oppo, ( much preferred the Teac), and the latest JAYS transport ( preferred the Jays, but said the two were very close in overall performance).
Cheers.....
I believe he compared Jays CDT2 (one behind the latest model CDT3) to the Teac in the video.
The CDT3 has a way better power supply and isolation of everything. The drive as well as internal noise. Its a hell of a deal for disc playing if you have a lot of disc. I would love to try one. Too much other stuff to do with bigger gains. Room being the key one. And maybe subs.
 
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