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Shanling ET3 CD Transport

epo1 said:
My concerns are about the box as a whole, I'd expect a top loader to be more reliable because simpler, but I'd also expect Rega to build their gear to a higher standard and offer a decent warranty. I'd also expect to be using the Rega in 15-20 years time. My current Musical Fidelity E624 is now 24 years old.
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Apologies, I did slightly misunderstand your previous post. As I said upthread I am willing to take the risk over long term reliability.
I do believe, like it or not, that products like this & the WiiM amp which is the subject of another thread, are the future of affordable HiFi especially for younger people.

TS
 
Yes, affordable. I did miss that aspect completely. Though some decent CD players are even cheaper.
 
I think it’s the combination of affordability, connectivity & portability which is what will make or break future HiFi. It’s what makes this CDT so appealing & a potential game changer imo.

TS
 
Very tempting i must say . Slight concerns over ease of getting cds out , anyone with fat fingers might struggle

As soon as someone gets one they can comment on drive noise if any ,that will be a major factor
 
hifinutt said:
Very tempting i must say . Slight concerns over ease of getting cds out , anyone with fat fingers might struggle
Click to expand...

Just the fact of having to remove the lid completely should make it much easier than the Rega set up where the lid is always in the way.

A bigger concern for me would be dropping the lid & potentially damaging it. It’s made of glass apparently, presumably toughened.
 
May I ask a question about the USB output?

If I plug it into a windows PC will it act as a USB CD-ROM drive ?

One usage would be to play a CD in HQPlayer on my PC which I can do currently with an external CD-ROM drive. Will this work the same way as a CD-ROM drive in my usage scenario.

.sjb
 
Sloop John B said:
May I ask a question about the USB output?

If I plug it into a windows PC will it act as a USB CD-ROM drive ?

One usage would be to play a CD in HQPlayer on my PC which I can do currently with an external CD-ROM drive. Will this work the same way as a CD-ROM drive in my usage scenario.

.sjb
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I'd be very surprised, I assume the USB is just sending the music out in digital format to a dac like a streamer would. A CD ROM drive is being told what data to get by the computer.
 
Sloop John B said:
May I ask a question about the USB output?

If I plug it into a windows PC will it act as a USB CD-ROM drive ?

One usage would be to play a CD in HQPlayer on my PC which I can do currently with an external CD-ROM drive. Will this work the same way as a CD-ROM drive in my usage scenario.

.sjb
Click to expand...
It's not recognised as an external drive by a PC or MAC (I've tried - it doesn't work) - as per @lawrence001
 
I'm turning into a bit of an evangelist for the ET3 but it really is great value for money. Latest from Darko:
Shanling ET3

Lastly, something that we reviewed very recently: the Shanling ET3 CD transport, which is so much more than that. The ET3 has a front panel display that shows us track progress – as we’d expect – but that porthole display also shows us cover art and metadata arriving over AirPlay or UPnP. Yup: this CD transport also contains a basic network streamer. For me, that’s a big plus.

The bonuses don’t end there: the ET3 has an internal upsampler that goes all the way up to DSD512 — if we use its I2S or USB output, DSD64 if we don’t. As well as the more standard AES, coaxial and TOSLINK digital outputs, the Shanling gives us USB and I2S. If there’s a standalone DAC on the planet that cannot be connected to this Shanling, I’ve not seen it.

However, I think my favourite feature of the ET3 is a CD mechanism that doesn’t rely on a slot or a drawer. It’s a top loader with a ‘saucepan lid’ cover. The puck that keeps the CD in place sits on the underside of that glass cover. Lifting off the lid, placing the CD into the cavity and then putting the lid back on top means we have to get very hands-on with a physical format — the Shanling helps retain much of the playback ritual that many people love about vinyl.

As we know, CDs are considerably cheaper than records. Look at Peter Gabriel’s i/o or New Order’s re-issued Substance: the CD version gives us bonus material not found on the vinyl. Similarly, The Cure’s 2023 reissue of Wish spread the original 12 tracks across two slabs of vinyl but for the CD version, two extra discs of bonus material were added.

Judging by the number of new CD player models announced in the past couple of years, hifi manufacturers have woken up to how audiophiles are a long way from giving up on the silver disc. And I am delighted to see Shanling put its CD transport out there with more features than the competition and for considerably less money.
 
hifinutt said:
Very tempting i must say . Slight concerns over ease of getting cds out , anyone with fat fingers might struggle

As soon as someone gets one they can comment on drive noise if any ,that will be a major factor
Click to expand...

TonyScarlett said:
Just the fact of having to remove the lid completely should make it much easier than the Rega set up where the lid is always in the way.

A bigger concern for me would be dropping the lid & potentially damaging it. It’s made of glass apparently, presumably toughened.
Click to expand...


we have had a top loader for years - gets quite dusty inside, but very easy to use

old pics

WP_20130217_003 by uh_simon, on Flickr

8H0B4262 by uh_simon, on Flickr
 
I presume something like this is moot if you've already ripped your CDs and have a local streaming solution in place?
 
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