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Jays audio CD Transport Opinion

greygoose

pfm Member
Has anyone demo'd or purchased the above CD Transport, How does is sound compared to similar transports / DAC combinations ?
 
I think there is a Steve Gutenberg audiophiliac review of it on you tube. One of its major pluses is it has i2s. If you use that into a Denafrips Terminator the results are meant to be excellent. I've heard it said there is no need to buy an Esoteric transport as the Jays Audio is as good for about half the price. I'm considering getting one to go with my Terminator.
 
I’ve owned a CDT2 MK2 for 18 months or so. I can’t say that it’s better at providing digital signals than others i’ve owned like Bel Canto CDT3, Cyrus Signature or Perreaux CDT but the pride of ownership and flexibility of having four different outputs puts it way ahead in my estimation. I can’t recommend highly enough.
 
How much physical headroom would you say it needs to comfortably play CDs? My endgame transport is likely to be this or CEC but it would have to be on a shelf.
 
How much physical headroom would you say it needs to comfortably play CDs? My endgame transport is likely to be this or CEC but it would have to be on a shelf.

Obviously it depends on how big your hands are and how clumsy you are! I have it on a top shelf but if if I had to put it on another shelf, i’d be looking at twice the player height, so around 24cm.
 
I’ve owned a CDT2 MK2 for 18 months or so. I can’t say that it’s better at providing digital signals than others i’ve owned like Bel Canto CDT3, Cyrus Signature or Perreaux CDT but the pride of ownership and flexibility of having four different outputs puts it way ahead in my estimation. I can’t recommend highly enough.

You have owned many of the the alternative transports at this price level Bel canto and Cyrus.
I do like a top loader as there is less to go wrong unlike the others mentioned, pride of ownership re build quality is reassuring,
Performance wise is the question and synergy with other DAC's is the queston.
 
You have owned many of the the alternative transports at this price level Bel canto and Cyrus.
I do like a top loader as there is less to go wrong unlike the others mentioned, pride of ownership re build quality is reassuring,
Performance wise is the question and synergy with other DAC's is the queston.

I’m not really a believer in ‘better sounding’ transports or synergy with DACs. I do think that spending money on a better DAC can provide improvements in sound quality but i’m not convinced that applies to transports. YMMV.
 
I just looked on e bay and the first one I saw and the digits on the display are failing........Who repairs / services these in the UK?

Definitive Audio are the distributors. Bear in mind that depending on which 51 variant it is, that could be the best part of 15 years old.

I bought a TL51X in 2006, paired with their DX71 DAC. CEC in Germany (their main European 'hub') were able to revive that pairing after a major lightning strike, so I suspect an ageing display might not faze them too much.

That said, the current generation of players was introduced about 5 years ago, current equivalent would be the CD5.
 
Any thoughts on Primare transports?

eg how might the DD15 compare vs DD35 and do these stack up vs CEC TL5 (51?), Jay’s CDT2 mk2, Cyrus, Cambridge CXC, other ideas?

Budget (preferably) south of 1K so quite interested in bangs for bucks.
What about older stuff like Sonic Frontiers, Sony etc?

Cashed in my Esoteric X03se cdp to get into a dac/streamer/headPh amp so missing that and currently slumming it with my old Denon DCD1520 so not too deprived but interested in what a dedicated transport has to offer?
 
Any thoughts on Primare transports?

eg how might the DD15 compare vs DD35 and do these stack up vs CEC TL5 (51?), Jay’s CDT2 mk2, Cyrus, Cambridge CXC, other ideas?

Budget (preferably) south of 1K so quite interested in bangs for bucks.
What about older stuff like Sonic Frontiers, Sony etc?

Cashed in my Esoteric X03se cdp to get into a dac/streamer/headPh amp so missing that and currently slumming it with my old Denon DCD1520 so not too deprived but interested in what a dedicated transport has to offer?
 
If you're buying new and can get past the somewhat cartoonish display graphics, the wee top-loading Pro-Ject CD RS is my favourite at around a grand. It can be improved further by adding the external PSU at some point.

https://www.decoaudio.com/deco_audio_cd_transports.html

If you scroll down, they also show the current CEC model, although that would blow your budget by some margin. I suspect not many s/h models around.

Current model transport is the TL5, not CD5 as I stated above. CD5 is a different beast, it has an onboard DAC with multiple inputs.


Re Primare, no idea, but a quick Google shows a slot-loading mechanism, so personally I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.
 


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