Audio Alchemy DDS pro, Theta Digital Pearl or EAD

I have not compared these to each other. I owned the Theta Pearl and was quite pleased with it, as it was an audible upgrade from what I'd been using before. However, I eventually replaced the Pearl with a Theta Jade, and got an easy-to-hear improvement—it brought me that much closer to the music. Still using and enjoying the Jade.

Transport makes a tremendous difference in CD sound. I guess my point is to consider the Jade rather than the Pearl if you want the best from Theta.

Best,
Dave

Thanks Dave!Very useful appreciation.I think the Jade could be a good choice,I´ll take it into consideration.Does anybody tried an EAD cd transport?I was thinking also in a California Audio Labs Delta transport.Any experiences will be appreciated.
Cheers!Raf

I had the EAD T-1000 transport many moons ago.I never had a problem with it.The build and sound quality were great,I loved it. I paired it with their DSP 7000 Series 3 dac...a very analog sounding combo. With that said,I would be concerned about replacement parts if needed.

Look into a used PS Audio Power Wave Transport,it reads and stores data on memory,which to me,at least,would be the way to go.It may lack some options you need but it is a giant killer in the transport universe and PSA has great support.

Good hunting...

I owned the Audio Alchemy DDS Pro at one time (a new one). It worked fine during the time I owned it, no problems at all.
If I remember correctly I used the I2S connections to other Audio Alchemy components.

FWIW, many years ago, I had a high-end Pioneer PD-95 transport with the stable platter drive. It was built like a tank – with an internal faraday cage. It was beautiful to look at. But, the sound was very dry and analytical. I sold it for a cheaper, better sounding, custom-modified transport with better processing and clock. No stable-platter. It just died a couple of weeks ago. So, I’ve been looking for a replacement.

I was researching the Audio Alchemy DDS Pro, also. I ran across this thread. It seems that the board might have a power/capacitor issue. Fortunately, the laser assembly, PEA1179 is still available from Pioneer. Unexpectedly, on a local Craigslist, I found an AA package including the DDS III, DTI and DST. Took a chance and bought the package. The three units are linked together ahead of my old DAC. My music sounds better than ever. LOL. I read somewhere that the AA DDS III has a Sony CD drive. So, if you find an Audio Alchemy transport, you might want to check out the DTI as a clock. I did hook up the DDS III directly to my DAC and it does sound pretty good. The DTI bumps it up a little more.