Don't You Dare Toss Those CDs! This CD Transport Will Blow Your Mind!

I was actually expecting it to cost twice that much. 50 lbs IS a tank. Then I saw the "Handmade in China" on the back panel, so that lowered the price in my mind. I'd certainly like to hear it in my own system. A/B it against the players I have, but it would have to make a noticeable difference in a positive way. I like that is available in black. Maybe next "Black Friday" if they have a sale.

Any measurements on this transport?

I settle for CD but I prefer live
Never mind the technicalities.

at what price pont does this actuaIly make a difference ? This is one of the last pieces to upgrade after many tens of thousands of dollars, not including the room.

Well, after listening to both tracks back and forth a few times with Grado cans and playing it through Jriver. I must say that I enjoy the Zenith more. It’s more insightful and engaging. I think it sounds just a wee bit more snappy, detailed, textured and, as you said, has better decay. Also, the small details like finger snaps sound more realistic. But I seriously doubt that I could hear these differences with the acoustics in my living room and yes, I am still drooling over the CDT3. It is stunningly beautiful inside and out.

Just get a decent reclocker.

This smoothness is a great sign of low level of jitter

People under estimate the impact of a transport. It can clearly be as important as a DAC.. Also the network makes a huge contribution to the result of a transport. As well as the digital cable used, power filtering and so on.. Some people are missing a good piece of SQ

Hi nice transport for sure But if i understand well using a dac that reclocks the incoming digital signal should reduce the source quality issue ?
this is also my humble experience

I dare you to compare to a Shanling ET3 MSRP $749

Jitter is the responsibility of the DAC, not the transport.

Even basic CD players can read bit for bit accuracy.

Noise insolation is best handled by galvanic isolation. Which eliminates this issue ans if your DAC doesn't have one. They can be purchased cheaply like the IFI one.

The CD player gives out timing because it's streaming the signal rather than just a single file to the DAC, but a DAC can rely on that timing if you are ussing something like IS2. But unless the clock is better than the DAC, most cases it isn't. Use a method of connection where the DAC does it.

Bottom line, a CD transpot is just moving 1's and 0's. The same thing streaming does, sending out music bit for bit perfect across the world.

This isn't anolog and there isn't all these errors you want to believe exist. It's just you are relying in the clock timing or letting noise affect the sound. But thats not inherent in a transport and easily defeated.

I dont see any reason to drop 5k on a cd transport. This is way overpriced, they are building this unit around a Phillips transport which is not the best in the business.

I listened to both presentations through AirPods. Seemed my ears preferred the Zenith Sound Clip. Both were good, but the Zenith seemed a bit more "juiced", "bright", "live". Just my thoughts. Thanks Ron. Enjoyed the review.

Totally agree with you if you have a top notch transport with your top notch DAC your will be enjoying your music even more. I love my Audiomat D1 MK2. Still love to play CD...

I have too many CDs, and ripped my entire collection a few years back to stream off my Aurender. But recently played with a neighbor’s Jay’s that he’s selling and got the itch. But you know what really floored me? The little Shanling ET3 for a fraction of the price (can be had for <$650) With I2s the performance is stunning, and IMHO the equal of the CDT-3 in many areas. The build of the tank-like CDT-3 is fantastic, but I dig the size of the Shanling, and its fit and finish isn’t a slouch. My neighbor is getting a DCS $$$$$, but he’s got a Chord DAC, McIntosh and Sonus Faber (totally digital), so gotta keep up appearances!

'Build like a tank' The ultimate compliment to sound quality ;)

I'm never giving up my Accuphase cd player. It has everything right going for it.

Ron said it's good, so I need to buy one!
I'll figure out why later.

For $5000 it should do the laundry and cook dinner as well.

I have 5ooo cd give or take 500.never quit collecting

This guy could have sold seltzer to the guests on the Titanic! 😂

I thought I'd give the sound clips ago, and downloaded both to my NUC running Roon. I'm surprised to say that I could tell a difference, even playing back through my 1K integrated's DAC. Not my sort of music, and I could not understand most of the words, a song about getting marmite delivered early in the morning in Georgia? I listened first to the CDT and found it quite enjoyable, nice rhythm and smooth. The zenith sounded like my system sometimes sounds, less smooth and a bit irritating. I went back to the CDT track and, yes it all got smoother and more rhythmical, the lyrics were definitely a tad clearer. Thanks Ron!

Imagine spending 5k on a transport when a $500 dollar rug that will absorb reflections is really what 90% of people need

Music lovers use their systems to listen to music. Audiophiles use music to listen to their systems.

A customer of the store I work at that was known to be a bit special got pranked by one of my colleagues. He was demonstrated 4 " different " cd transports blind. After 2 hours, he was having trouble between number 2 and 4. " You can hear a wider soundstage but the trebles more harsh on 2 than 4" he said....... On and on it went......... They were all the same transport. Cognitive biases are real, regardless of what people may consciously be thinking. Our brains have not evolved to keep pace with all the technology and complication we've added to our existence. Our brains still think we are in the jungle and causes our brains to constantly want to take shortcuts and react on impulse. This is where the concept of critical thinking comes from. Checking our brains aren't tricking us.

🤡

no SACD is a bust for me. I have to many SACD's. but I understand why a pure transport can step it up a notch.

who is Jay?

At US$5k you'd expect it to support SACD playback, would you not?
Sorry but in this segment, for me personally, Yamaha CD-SX000 series still rules. Have CD-S2100 and CD-S3000 and wouldn't change them for anything.

I found a micromega cd transport during a house clearence, is it worth keeping please?

After many years with marantz cd player, i moved to Audiolab CDT 6000 paired with Eversolo DMP A6. The difference is significantly audible.. glad I did as enjoy again my over 300 cd collection.
So transport makes a huge difference.
Thank you Ron as usual for such wonderful insights... this device is way beyond my affordability.

If you want to get more detail from the pits... but still retain that smooth presentation... just up-sample to 176.4! I would compare 44.1 to great analog playback... and 176.4 to great digital playback! Any way you slice it... the Jays is an end game spinner.

Even through my very modest PC speakers (carefully equalised), I could tell the CDT3 sounded better, with crisper transient attack and better defined space around instruments & voices. Thanks for the demo, though I was surprised that you preferred the 44.1 to the upsampled output. In my main system I use a Perpetual Technologies P1A interpolating upsampler feeding my MF Trivista DAC, and the improvement in subjective detail and soundstage focus is significant.

Transports indeed sound different from one another. Way different in the upper echelons. One of the best I’ve run is the Aqua La Diva mk ii into a Playback Designs MPD-8 DAC.

This seems like trying to apply an analogue sales pitch to CDs. Suppose the CD transport were better, you could store it's digital output in lossless format to replay it predictably anywhere. You're basically making a case for lossless "streaming" against all physical media with moving parts.

Have the CDT2 mk III at about the half the price and running through a Holo Audio May Dac using Is2 cable. Whoa….Agree…a transport is the way to go for great CD sound. I think you captured that well in your presentation……then it’s all about the Dac and supporting equipment.

Of those 5 reasons of yours, the only rational one is jitter. That could actually differentiate one cd player/transport from another. All of the others that you cite confuse the characteristics of an analog electronic signal with a digital bit stream. A series of ones and zeros aren't going to be polluted by the power supply, etc., etc. You really are the king of confusion and dim-witted, gullible thinking. Unlike Amir, whom you take cheap shot at. What a loser you are. Rock on.

My factory refurbished Yamaha CD S3000 was built before the days of separate DACs. The user guide says balanced XLR is the optimum connection. I love factory refurbished gear.

This is a truly lovely piece and I can see pride of ownership would give value to some, though for me it would have to demonstrably best the Shanling ET3 and Audiolab 9000CDT by a margin I can't believe it is capable of (based on experience of differences between transports in general...).

It’s just ones and zeros right…..NO.I have heard transports make as much difference as the dac.

The Bryston BCD3 player blows that ChiFi crap unit away🙈

What about using Glass Fiber Optic cable? I2s is not as great as people think. I have EMM LABS with their Transport! Ed Meitner pioneered this technology. The CDT3 comes from where? Is it China? Want nothing to do with anything hi fi from there. Supporting that Communistic Country is not a good thing! My opinion of course!

Ron, I get u but for those with modest wallets, can recommend a giant killer instead?

I do not like to be told what to do!

At $5k I'll bet it's not worth 8 plus times my AudioLab 6000 CDT.