CD in 2024

[notevenclose]

No I didn't, does the heavier puck make much of a difference?

Yes. It was also the case with the previous generation. When it was first suggested to me, I was hesitant re adding weight to the suspension, bit like mounting a Fidelity Research arm on a Linn, not a good idea. That's what happens when you buy CD players which think they're record players, you start treating them as if they are...

 

[hifinutt]

No I didn't, does the heavier puck make much of a difference?

I haven't even heard the Jay's, the physical size of the unit, the CD Pro 2 lazer and the build quality has been a big factor for the purchase.

I'm a bit annoyed at myself for not making the time to listen to a few things...especially an Audio Note CDT and Meishu amp!

looked at the cdt/one 11 but its around 3350 for the transport . i am sure it sounds lovely though

 

[notevenclose]

There are worse places to be stuck as I recall.

Hard to argue. I had a blast in the mid-eighties. Although in hindsight, I'd probably ditch the cowboy boots and reconsider the hairstyle.

 

[hifinutt]

No I didn't, does the heavier puck make much of a difference?

I haven't even heard the Jay's, the physical size of the unit, the CD Pro 2 lazer and the build quality has been a big factor for the purchase.

I'm a bit annoyed at myself for not making the time to listen to a few things...especially an Audio Note CDT and Meishu amp!

looked at the cdt/one 11 but its around 3350 for the transport . i am sure it sounds lovely though

 

[hifinutt]

this is the CEC TL5 from hifi guy , they had the room with msb etc at the heathrow show . you may have seen it . it may have sold by now but 900 quid seems a good price [ i have no connection save a customer of many years of theirs]

CEC TL5 CD Transport – Hifi Guy

CEC TL5 belt drive CD Transport in perfect condition having had one owner from new apron 2 years old comes with all packaging, remote etc

hifiguy.co.uk

made in Japan too !!!

 

[notevenclose]

this is the CEC TL5 from hifi guy , they had the room with msb etc at the heathrow show . you may have seen it . it may have sold by now but 900 quid seems a good price [ i have no connection save a customer of many years of theirs]

CEC TL5 CD Transport – Hifi Guy

CEC TL5 belt drive CD Transport in perfect condition having had one owner from new apron 2 years old comes with all packaging, remote etc

hifiguy.co.uk

made in Japan too !!!

£900 is a mental price, I think around three grand new.

 

[hifinutt]

if you look carefully in bottom right corner it seems to give the date as 2022 so not that old

 

[notevenclose]

if you look carefully in bottom right corner it seems to give the date as 2022 so not that old

TL5 has been around for almost a decade, they have a very slow upgrade cycle. Age probably isn't an issue; I think they can maintain/service pretty much anything, and drive belts on this generation are user-replaceable.

 

[notevenclose]

Drive belts you say? On a CD player?

Deco Audio CD Transports

moving magnet and moving coil stereo cartridges

decoaudio.com

I may have imagined it, but I seem to recall an interview with Andy Grove and Peter Quortrup a few years back where they were working on a belt-drive transport as their range-topper. (Wonder where they got that idea?).

As far as I know, it's not seen the light of day to date.

 

[notevenclose]

this is the CEC TL5 from hifi guy , they had the room with msb etc at the heathrow show . you may have seen it . it may have sold by now but 900 quid seems a good price [ i have no connection save a customer of many years of theirs]

CEC TL5 CD Transport – Hifi Guy

CEC TL5 belt drive CD Transport in perfect condition having had one owner from new apron 2 years old comes with all packaging, remote etc

hifiguy.co.uk

made in Japan too !!!

CEC had a short-lived experiment with a cheaper range of Chinese manufactured electronics at one point. Partly as a result of a tie-up I think with digital designer for hire Carlos Candeias (who went on to found BMC). At the time he just happened to own a manufacturing facility in China.

All the belt-drive transports have always been Japanese built.

CEC's expertise has always been primarily in mechanical engineering, they've teamed up with a number of designers on the electronics side while they handle the stuff that goes round and round or up and down.

 

[notevenclose]

I think you mentioned Thrax Audio in a thread recently. Chap behind that designed one (or more) of the current CEC DACs.

 

[hifinutt]

Wow , never knew that .thrax stuff is superb

 

[owl]

I’m very pleased with my cec cd player. I’m using it as a transport and it sounds wonderful. A sense of fluidity and rhythm a bit like a turntable. I think the pink triangle dac helps this sense of fluidity. I’ve never heard digital sound well less digital. I’ve I swap in a Marantz cd player as transport (a very old cd52), the sense of fluidity is diminished. The build quality of the cec is excellent.

It might sound like foo but an isolation device like stillpoints (which is use) or an isolation table make a difference. Removes blurring of transients and details.

 

[notevenclose]

Wow , never knew that .thrax stuff is superb

CEC definitely march to the beat of their own drum. You might reasonably expect there to be a matching DAC for each transport, but it ain't necessarily so. Even where one exists, they're often launched 'out of sync;' IIRC, the DAC matching the TL5 didn't appear until a couple of years after the transport was released.

I know there's a new integrated player, CD2 I think, making its debut imminently, I don't know if that will indicate a new DAC to match the TL2N (which still has no 'matching' partner). Neither the 'International or Japanese websites are much help, they're both typically years out of date.

Thrax chap's DAC design for CEC:

TL-2N & DA0.30

6moons.com

 

[notevenclose]

I’m very pleased with my cec cd player. I’m using it as a transport and it sounds wonderful. A sense of fluidity and rhythm a bit like a turntable. I think the pink triangle dac helps this sense of fluidity. I’ve never heard digital sound well less digital. I’ve I swap in a Marantz cd player as transport (a very old cd52), the sense of fluidity is diminished. The build quality of the cec is excellent.

It might sound like foo but an isolation device like stillpoints (which is use) or an isolation table make a difference. Removes blurring of transients and details.

Yup. I've used FE Ceraballs and IsoAcoustics Orea Bronze under mine, (always set of three) with a slight preference for the latter. Mind you that's partly because of them making a better job of rendering it immobile when a passing cat jumps on top of it.

I did try the WellFloat board at one point, and I really liked that, but I struggled to justify the price, and it looked like a bit of a dust-trap. I've been using CEC for 16 years(!) since a two-box set-up replaced a Resolution Audio Opus 21. They remain the best I've heard for CD replay, only other serious competitor I've heard to date was a Reimyo a few years back.