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RE: I've had 4 Transports, here's my $0.02

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creativepart

In Reply to: RE: CD transport needed - maybe posted by psgary on February 27, 2025 at 19:52:00

I heard the Onkyo 7030 was a CDP that worked well as a transport, so I got one cheap on Amazon. But it was dull and lifeless to me.
So, I found a Cambridge CXC for sale locally for $280 and snatched it up. I liked it a lot. In fact, I liked it so much I bought the Audiolab 6000DT for $300 and sold the CXC. I really liked the Audiolab. It sounded great, a tiny bit better than the CA.
So, if a little is good, a LOT could be better, right? Sold the 6000CDT and spent $2200 on a Jay's Audio CDT2-MK3. Wow, better yet. But do I need a $2200 CD Transport? Nah, it was good but not that much better than the Audiolab. So, I sold the Jay's and bought the Shanling CDT-3 for $900.
Here's the way I looked at it.
I like the CXC and liked the tray load. I loved the sound of the Audiolab but didn't prefer the slot load. I like the Top Load of the Jays, but not the price. The Shanling has the top load of the Jays and pricing closer to the Audiolab.
If I were to do it all again, and start over I'd buy the Audiolab 7000CDT to avoid the slot loader.
But, in every case these CDTs sounded better than any CD Player used as a transport.

Edits: 03/02/25

Follow Ups:

Thx. Nice transport overview. - Mick Wolfe 09:17:59 03/03/25 (1)
NT
- Yes, I too feel transported... (nt - peppy m. 23:56:11 03/03/25 (0)
  .
Definitely worth $0.02 - psgary 15:49:29 03/02/25 (2)
Thanks for your comments. You may have saved me a lot of money because the Jay's, either the MK2 or MK3, was tempting. I feel like you, however. Is a $2k transport really needed? Obviously not if the sound isn't incredibly better than units for far less than half the price.

The Audiolab transports do have the slot loading and that's a deal breaker for me. Even the 7000 has it according to pictures.

I'm going to see what's available on the used market. As you know, waiting for the right unit can take some time.

Thanks again.
- 7000 Drawer Loading - creativepart 18:05:12 03/02/25 (1)
  Pretty sure the 7000 Audiolab has a drawer loader mechanism.
  
  Copied from their website:
  
  "The low-friction loading tray, sturdy aluminium base and chassis of the 7000CDT work to tackle vibrations"
  - Silly me - psgary 19:22:56 03/02/25 (0)
    You're right. I'm used to a larger face on the CD drawer. A slot would simply be black, not matching the silver color of the unit.

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