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CD Transport to partner Chord Qutest DAC

Tim Purley

Tim Purley

Hear today
Thinking of replacing my NAIM CDX with a separate CD Transport / Chord Qutest combination. Will be feeding into my Teddy Pardo PRI / MB100 set up (and Royd speakers).
Any suggestions for transports I should audition that are a good match for the Qutest?
 
Cheap?
2nd hand DVD player such as a Cambridge 540 (you can't give the things away)

Mine will play a tangentially scratched CD nothing else can handle.

The only problem with DVD or BLURAY players as CD transports is they tend to take a little time to decide what type of disc you've given them before playing any music.
 
hifinutt said:
Budget? Slot loader , too loader or tray ?
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Relaxed about format - more interested in making the most of the Qutest and rest of the system. Local dealer was suggesting Audiolab (@£400) or one of the Cyrus range (£1k+), so had me wondering if the extra £600 is necessary / vfm!
 
Won’t the dealer let you try them?
I have the Audiolab playing into a mojo and think it’s excellent.
 
Tim Purley said:
Relaxed about format - more interested in making the most of the Qutest and rest of the system. Local dealer was suggesting Audiolab (@£400) or one of the Cyrus range (£1k+), so had me wondering if the extra £600 is necessary / vfm!
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I have a cyrus transport...its getting on now and my other cd transports are close to each other but miles away from the cyrus..money well spent
 
cayorob said:
Won’t the dealer let you try them?
I have the Audiolab playing into a mojo and think it’s excellent.
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He will - indeed he's encouraging me to have a demo. Reason for posting here is to hear others' experiences of using various transports with a Qutest. Your endorsement of the Audiolab / Chord combo is encouraging, thanks!
 
Used to have a Meridian 500 which was ace but getting long in the tooth now and spares are a concern, I believe the later version Mk3 can still be repaired and a new laser mech sourced. Now I use an Oppo 103 as transport, you get used to the loading time, sounds good and is able to play all formats, I also had the Qutest for a while.
 
CDX is a great player, I had one for many years. I would either stick with it or go a bit radical with an Innuos Zen Mini, more money but excellent SQ & opens up other options.
 
Maybe a bit over budget but the Jay’s Audio CDT2 mk3 is absolutely superb, and a surprisingly audible improvement over the Cambridge CXC I had before. It’s a very beautifully constructed top loader.
 
Been looking for the same thing myself for a little while now and had been interested in the CEC as well as Jays Audio and the Denafrips Avatar, sadly not heard any of these, so far
 
Woodface said:
CDX is a great player, I had one for many years. I would either stick with it or go a bit radical with an Innuos Zen Mini, more money but excellent SQ & opens up other options.
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Ooh - very interesting suggestion that raises one query on my part. Can you use the Zen Mini as a CD transport in its own right (i.e. direct to a pre-amp or intermediate DAC) without ripping the CD? I'd be wary of a set up that introduces unnecessary signal paths.
 
chris turner said:
Been looking for the same thing myself for a little while now and had been interested in the CEC as well as Jays Audio and the Denafrips Avatar, sadly not heard any of these, so far
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Not sure my budget will stretch to the Jays Audio (despite JTC's glowing reference!) - but interested to hear others' thoughts on / experience of your shortlist.
 
Y
Tim Purley said:
Ooh - very interesting suggestion that raises one query on my part. Can you use the Zen Mini as a CD transport in its own right (i.e. direct to a pre-amp or intermediate DAC) without ripping the CD? I'd be wary of a set up that introduces unnecessary signal paths.
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You’ll get something very similar by utilising the free Vortexbox software and either spare hardware of your own or something bought. Whatever, it is great software.
 
Tim Purley said:
Ooh - very interesting suggestion that raises one query on my part. Can you use the Zen Mini as a CD transport in its own right (i.e. direct to a pre-amp or intermediate DAC) without ripping the CD? I'd be wary of a set up that introduces unnecessary signal paths.
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There’s also Daphile software which looks great.
 
Tim Purley said:
Ooh - very interesting suggestion that raises one query on my part. Can you use the Zen Mini as a CD transport in its own right (i.e. direct to a pre-amp or intermediate DAC) without ripping the CD? I'd be wary of a set up that introduces unnecessary signal paths.
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The Zen Mini has an internal dac & a direct digital out via co-ax or USB. I ran a CDX/XPS 2 for many years & now have an ATC CDA2, I plug the Zen into Dac within this unit.

You have to rip the CD to the hard drive but this is done lossless; I reckon it’s the best digital source I’ve had. You can also stream via Tidal or Qbuz or Spotify connect. It also opens up a plethora of internet radio options.

I now have the option to play a CD or a rip of it; I am using the Zen more than CD.

Make a big change or keep what you have.
 
Are you sure the zen mini has a dac and coax out? Mine doesn’t, it’s a mini 2 so maybe the 3 does. Still a great player for the money though.
 
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