advertisement


PS Audio Transports

greygoose

pfm Member
Considering options for a high quality transport for my Chord QBD76HD, AES/EBU connections deemed best.
PS Audio Transports are rare but come with good reviews, would love to hear any opinions from owners / demo's .
 
I’ve got the Direct Stream Memory Player/ Direct Stream DSD Combo ands it’s really excellent. As a stand alone transport it’s one of the best BUT it’s real value lies with the I2S link to the DAC enabling a raw DSD Stream. As it’s based on an OPPO player maybe it would make sense to look at their (now discontinued) models? Also, wouldn’t a second hand Chord player do the trick as well? There’s a Blu CD transport on eBay for £2250.
 
I owned a PS Audio transport. I liked it. It was very, very good. But it wasn't massively better than a Cambridge Audio CXC transport. Indeed, it was only very slightly better.
 
Bel Canto transports have AES EBU outputs.
Have always fancied a PS Audio Perfectwave transport but sure I read about quality issues at some point.
 
I’ve got the Direct Stream Memory Player/ Direct Stream DSD Combo ands it’s really excellent. As a stand alone transport it’s one of the best BUT it’s real value lies with the I2S link to the DAC enabling a raw DSD Stream. As it’s based on an OPPO player maybe it would make sense to look at their (now discontinued) models? Also, wouldn’t a second hand Chord player do the trick as well? There’s a Blu CD transport on eBay for £2250.

That is a fantastic system you have there, the only way to unlock the DSD layer is to use the DAC, uber system au around the 10k mark lol.
I did not realise it was based on the oppo platform, I was looking for a cd only based transport as reviews refer to DVD multiplayers use different speeds and downgrade performance!!

There is a perfect wave transport on ebay right now for £1895
I just a 3 year old auction for one at approx £900 ( 1k max budget)

Bel Canto transports have AES EBU outputs.
Have always fancied a PS Audio Perfectwave transport but sure I read about quality issues at some point.
Dealer backup seems to be an issue for Belcanto, rare secondhand and power supplies discontinued.

I owned a PS Audio transport. I liked it. It was very, very good. But it wasn't massively better than a Cambridge Audio CXC transport. Indeed, it was only very slightly better.
You might have just saved me a small fortune, what DAC did you feed the cambridge cxc into,I have read many reviews on here and and there are many mixed reviews re the CXC, some good but many reiterating that you get what you pay for with transports and that the cxc while good for the money falls short.

I can happily recommend the Jay's Audio CDT2 MK2. It's a top loading transport and is built like a tank. Willow Tree Audio are importing them into the UK -> https://www.willowtreeaudio.co.uk/jaysaudio
Never heard of these , sent an email re prices, philips mechanism are these not supported / produced any more??

Keep the suggestions coming its all good.
 
Considering options for a high quality transport for my Chord QBD76HD, AES/EBU connections deemed best.

Who deems AES/EBU the best? BNC to BNC is a much better connector for transmitting high-frequency data signals... What about the length of the digital cable? That is also important to consider.
 
I owned a PS Audio transport. I liked it. It was very, very good. But it wasn't massively better than a Cambridge Audio CXC transport. Indeed, it was only very slightly better.

I had a CDX running with various Dac's
Fair performance at the asking price, nothing special indeed IME
Didn't last long in my setups
 
"Dealer backup seems to be an issue for Belcanto, rare secondhand and power supplies dscontinued."

i contacted bc about something on a saturday and got a supportive reply within 2 hours , its true they have discontinued power supplies but others can step into that role . i had one made for my bc dac
 
So options proposed so far price wise are as follows:

Cambridge CXC £250-300
Tascam cd 500b £500 SLOT

Bel Canto transports CD2/CD3 £1500
Jay's Audio CDT2 MK2 £1895


PS AUDIO Direct Stream Memory Player £5999
My initial preference was for a Chord Blu 3k or a simaudio Moon Neo260d 1.5-2k but these were well over my budget of 1k

I know a lot of cd mechamisms give trouble so my preference is for top loading or excellent dealer backup with replacement mechanisms (I know a lot to as for)
I just dont want another expensive brick.

Should I be looking a second hand Pioneers pd90's or stick with nearly new units currently being manufactured, not many options for a grand!!
 


advertisement


Back
Top