[Seano]

My old NAD CD player is, after over twelve years, starting to give up the game. The drawer won't open unless there is already a disc on board (well it will open but it requires constant button pressing for upwards of 30 seconds) and the display functions according to it's own rules (ie at random) instead of mine (ie always). Inetrestingly it still sounds OK and is able to track as expected.

Whether it will survive to the release (and personal affordability) of the Daksa is open to question. So I'm considering a new un.

Research has suggested that I can get a case+power supply for an internal CD-rom drive for about AU$130 plus the cost of the drive (between 30 and 80 Oz bucks).  Standalone CD transport for 180 or so is mighty appealing since it has none of the stuff that becomes redundant by using the DAKSA.  I mean why spend more than a grand on a quality player only then to reduce it to a transport.

Thing is that the cases I've seen only USB and/or Firewire outputs on them although a couple have L and R audio plugs as well. None so far have a SPDIF out.  Does anyone know whether such a toy could be adapted to have the appropriate outputs OR could the DAKSA be specced to make use of USB or better still Firewire input?

Or best of all, Hugh and Ben could put together a little package that could make use of off the shelf CD transports so that they can be integrated with the DAKSA!!

Hint Hint? Big bloody hint hint

[AKSA]

Hi Sean,

Thanks for the post;  good thinking, I certainly agree with your sentiments.

However, I need to confer with Ben before answering;  in the meantime, maybe buy a budget DVD player which plays CDs to tide you over until we get the product to market......

Cheers,

Hugh

[DSK]

Hi Sean,
The only problem with using CD-ROM drives is the lack of track info etc etc.

The Pioneer DVD players are getting a lot of favourable comment on AA. Apparently most models use the same transport and, due to more R&D than CD players/transports now get, is supposedly very good. Some of the modders choose the cheaper Pioneer DVD players as their base.

Also, Rotel CD players make good transports, as does anything using the Philips drive (eg. Marantz's) and the Sony ES players. These units can be picked up second hand fairly cheaply now. The Sony DVP-7000 & DVP-7700 are meant to be awesome transports but, even second hand, are still pretty pricey.

Hope this helps.

[MikeC]

Sean

Look around for an old Laser Disk player. High end shops sometimes take them in as trade-ins for new DVD players just to make a sale and often don't know what they have on their hands, or what to do with it. They are also not likely to sell them off quickly.

I bought an EAD with digital out for the equivalent of AUD 200.00 about 3 years ago. The only problem is there was no remote with it, but it knocks everything else I have heard - including a highly regarded DVD player and a Theta transport - for a six when feeding an old Wadia DAC. I have heard that the Pioneer LD players are also very good as CD transports, and that the EAD is a reworked Pioneer. I had previously had an old Wadia 3200 transport until it was stolen , and had almost given up listening to CD's due to complete lack of musical involvement with anything I could afford as a transport . I think the LD betters my old Wadia as a transport, but can't comment on any of the newer models or other really high end transports - but thats not really my point.

A theory for the output quality of the LD players is the build level that had to be achieved just to play a 12" diameter out of balance disk. A CD is much easier to spin up and maintain at speed, so using a LD player as a transport is serious mechanical overkill - always a good thing in this hobby. Others will say that this has no effect on the digital data stream at all - I say thats their loss .

Have a look around and give it a try, you could be pleasantly surprised at relatively little outlay if you get lucky.

Regards

Mike

PS: Hugh, I'm really looking forward to the Nirvana Plus upgrade details, how soon is soon?

[andyr]

I mean why spend more than a grand on a quality player only then to reduce it to a transport.  ...

Hi, Seano,

Mate, I'm not into the little silver disc technology (I play those big black vinyl thingies) but mebbe you're being a bit of a cheapskate here!

I remember reading reviews in TAS in the 90s of CD Transports (like the Theta) which cost US$5000 or more ... in the US.  Forget what they cost here!!  The reviewers raved about them (of course, they didn't have to fork out their own folding stuff for them!) so  presumably they thought these Transports made the CDs sound better than your normal commercial players?

I would have thought one of these high quality Transports would be an appropriate match for the DAKSA?

Regards,

Andy

[stvnharr]

I had a Theta transport for a number of years and it was a superb performer.   The Data Basic series and Pearl transport are often available on audiogon for not too much.   However getting one of these in Australia is something else.
The DB series used a Philips CDM-9, and the Pearl used a Pioneer.   Theta made their own power supplies and output configurations.
Theta cd products were known in their day for having the best bass response on any cd products.   And that was my own experience as well.
One of the most demonstrative A/B replacements I ever made in my audio system was when I replaced a Sony ES player with the Theta transport, already was using a little Theta dac w/the Sony.   Never knew a transport could make much difference, but the cd collection seemed to be reinvented.
Also, I think that in general, the digital products made by Theta and others in the 90's were/are more durable and well made than the standard mass market cd players.

[Seano]

Thanks for all comments
The truth is I am being a cheapskate.  That's why I'm asking!! I don't want to spend a thousand bucks just to get a transport.  I'm open to second hand stuff cause much of it can be a bargain.

But I was looking at new.  And if I can get a standard CD-ROM drive/transport sorted out for $180 bucks and hook it up to the DAKSA then then I'm really interested.  I know it can be done because REDGUM do a version that's incorporated with their DAC (www.redgumaudio.com). And with the prevalence of external standalone CD-ROM and DVD drives in the AU$200-300 (or less if you want to talk bout AU$80 DVD players)mark perhaps there's opportunity there for Hugh too.

I'm just not keen on spending more than a grand or more on a CD player that's going to be reduced to a transport.  And I will never be in the market for the more esoteric transports out there. I can't see or hear the point and most importantly can't afford it.

[bubba966]

The Pioneer DVD players are getting a lot of favourable comment on AA. Apparently most models use the same transport and, due to more R&D than CD players/transports now get, is supposedly very good. Some of the modders choose the cheaper Pioneer DVD players as their base.

Also, Rotel CD players make good transports, as does anything using the Philips drive (eg. Marantz's) and the Sony ES players. These units can be  ...

Well, Marantz uses a lot of Pioneer gear in their stuff. I've not seen a current Marantz, but just about everything else I've ever seen of theirs was Pioneer based.

And I'll second the fact that Rotel does make some decent CD transports. But it'd be easier (& cheaper!) to find a entry level Pioneer DVDP to use as a transport.

Sean

Look around for an old Laser Disk player. High end shops sometimes take them in as trade-ins for new DVD players just to make a sale and often don't know what they have on their hands, or what to do with it. They are also not likely to sell them off quickly.

I bought an EAD with digital out for the equivalent of AUD 200.00 about 3 years ago. The only problem is there was no remote with it, but it knocks everything else I have heard - including a highly regarded DVD player and a Theta transport - for a six when feeding an old Wadia DAC. I have heard that the Pioneer LD players are also very good as CD transports, and that the EAD is a reworked Pioneer. I had previously had an old Wadia 3200 transport until it was stolen  , and had almost given up listening to CD's due to complete lack of musical involvement with anything I could afford as a transport  . I think the LD betters my old Wadia as a transport, but can't comment on any of the newer models or other really high end transports - but thats not really my point.

A theory for the output quality of the LD players is the build level that had to be achieved just to play a 12" diameter out of balance disk. A CD is much easier to spin up and maintain at speed, so using a LD player as a transport is serious mechanical overkill - always a good thing in this hobby. Others will say that this has no effect on the digital data stream at all - I say thats their loss  .

Pioneer was the best LDP manufacturer. And the EAD LD deck is in fact a Pioneer with a bit different electronics in it. Don't recall the Pioneer model EAD used offhand (could look it up if it matters), but I do recall it being one of the best LD players Pioneer built for U.S. use.

And it's quite true about spinning up an LD. A regular LD needs to be spun up to 1,800 RPM (CD is 340-500 RPM) at the beginning of a side. At the end of a side it's down to 600 RPM. On double sided LD decks, it applies a brake at the end of side 1, stops the disc, flips the laser over, then spins it up to 1,800 RPM again. The later DVD/LD/CD decks did that in 4 or 5 seconds!

And the weight of a LD is almost 1 pound, which is a good bit more than a CD.

It's already been mentioned that LD decks also had to deal with out of round & out of balance LD's. That much weight over than much area at 1,800 RPM isn't easy to deal with (Sony LD decks were notorious for not being able to handle warped/out of round/out of balance/non-perfect LD's), and Pioneer did it better than anyone else did.

So there's probably a few decent reasons a Pioneer LDP would make a damn nice CD transport...

[dayneger]

Maybe you should just pick up an older Rotel CDP for a transport, as others have suggested.  I'm still using my RCD-855 from 1990 which works great and, to be frank, embarrasses a lot of much newer players.  I haven't found there to be as much improvement in the digital realm as many others, at least compared to that unit, which went for about $380 back then.  Still hoping for the DAKSA to open new worlds, of course. . .

I've got a Pioneer DV-2650 for my modest HT use, which probably uses the same transport as most of the other less expensive Pioneers.  I was hoping its transport would be about as good as the old Rotel so that I could have one fewer boxes on the rack, but unfortunately the Rotel completely outclassed it when hooked up to Wayne's SmArt Dio and digital cable.  Oh well, it sounds fine for movies.

Incidentally, the SmArt has very few advantages compared to my RCD-855!  So you'll have great sound until Hugh and Ben astonish the audio world once again!

Cheers,

Dayne

[AKSA]

Dayne,

Check C2 on the keypad pcb is 1nF - not more, some got through in error.

Check also that there are no fluorescent lamps on right near the keypad IR sensor;  they don't like such radiation directly.

My thanks to Alan Oldale of New Zealand for pointing this little known fact out to me......

Cheers,

Hugh

[Rocket]

Hi Seano,

Buy a Tent clock xo3 and a cheap pioneer dvd or another cdp and install the clock.  The tent clock has an upgraded digital circuit and apparently turns cheap players into very good ones when using them with a dac.

i'm going to invest in one myself.

regards

rod