Does a new cd transport require break-in time?

Synergy between components is very important maybe the CXC and the Gungy are not a good match .The CXC ia a pure transport so its sound is very neutral this allows the DAC to determine the sound signature . I achieved  big improvement with the CXC in 2 main areas :The dynamic spectrum is wider the bass is stronger and deeper and the highs are more precise, Secondly much more details and accurate sound stage.
I realy don't know what eent wrong in your system. 

I believe synergy is the issue as well. It’s really a shame if so.
But, I even if so, I’ll be happy with the alternate combo.
Its a big improvement over what I had.
And I’ll pocket the return of the Cambridge.  Or, alternately, fix the mistracking and keep it as a backup for the Theta (I’m listening to it now — very satisfying.)

itzhak, what transport did you have before the CA?

I had the Rotel RCD-1570 before which cost twice the CXC , It wasn’t a bad CD player but when I bought the Mcintosh DAC I felt that as a pure transport it degraded the sound severely .In the future maybe I will upgrade the CXC to the CEC TL5 .

Rvpiano 11-12-2017
I don’t understand why the Gungnir doesn’t sound better with the Cambridge. I thought it would. Maybe it is a question of break in. Shrill is perhaps too strong a word for the problem with the sound. It just seems lacking in fullness.

Rvpiano 11-13-2017
Interestingly, the Cambridge really sounds great with the old Theta DS Pro Prime DAC — full-bodied and detailed. It should sound even better with the Gungy. But it sounds too analytical and cold, without depth.

A possible explanation might relate to the fact that the impedance of the CXC’s coaxial S/PDIF output is specified as "< 75 ohms." That is a strange specification. Ideally the impedance should be 75 ohms +/- some very tight tolerance, not "less than 75 ohms," which is what "<" denotes.

It is common for a manufacturer to not indicate a +/- tolerance, but in most cases what is stated is simply "75 ohms," not "< 75 ohms."

If in fact the impedance is substantially less than 75 ohms the resulting sonics can be expected to have considerable variation depending on the happenstance of the design of the DAC and probably also on the length and other characteristics of the cable that is being used.

You might want to contact Cambridge Audio and ask them **how much less** than 75 ohms the impedance is.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al