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People buying Transports again?

I have a friend who is looking to purchase some dCS equipment. He is set on getting the entire dCS stack. Not sure if it is the Vivaldi or Pagnini. Although he has converted his library to digital (Meridian Sooloos) he believes he gets the best sound via a Transport. Now I know this is very subjective on does it sound better and if so what is the price of it. Like him I have converted all of my music over to digital. I converted it mostly for convenience and access to my entire collection. I have downloaded some HiRez files but I have no desire to repurchase my music in HiRez format if it becomes available. To me converting from disc to digital files was like going from non-remote control preamps to preamps with remotes. I personally would not buy a non-remote controlled preamp but that is just me. Are people going back or staying with transports?
heavenlyaudio
dhl93449
438 posts
 
I am going AWAY from PCM transports. My recent experience with memory players and now a Bryston BCD-1 has me going to ripped source material, even though it will be an enormous amount of work to rip my CD library. And it is much more than convenience like remote vs no remote. Its a sound quality issue. I am hearing things in my standard CDs I have never heard before. Granted, I am not comparing to $15K transports but that is the point. Best sound for the buck.
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
dCS makes some pretty special transports. i have the scarlatti dac/clock/trans and the trans is superior on redbook and sacd. i've also heard the dcs scarlatti upsampler at my dealers....and even then preferred the trans...

don't get me wrong....downloads sound great to...but in direct comparisons, I always preferred the transport. on SACD was comparing to 24/192 download. Now the Vivaldi can do higher sampling rates...so maybe it'll change.

For your friend, I think he must get a dCS transport...even if he/she does the Vivaldi DAC and a scarlatti or paginini trans...don't forget the clocks are crucial also...

Hope this helps you
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
This is a very timely topic for me as a I recently purchased a single box cdp and dac (Luxman D-06). I mainly stream music through my Sonos system. I find the convenience unbeatable, though the sound quality is questionable which I intend to correct using Empirical Audio's Synchro-Mesh reclocker. The reason why I purchased the Luxman was for pure convenience. I dont like having to wait to rip new cds then update my library before I can listen.

In terms of sound quality comparison I do think it does take a very good player to compare to a digital only setup. In the past, I have had Esoteric cdps which to my ears sounded better than most of the digital only systems I have heard but was mainly due to technology such as reclockers and USB/SPDIF converters not being as good as it is now. At the end of the day this hobby is all about works best for you!
rx8man's avatar
rx8man
1,355 posts
 
For sound quality and lack of format headaches I'll be keeping the CEC
transport for a long time.
gammajo's avatar
gammajo
798 posts
 
I have an Ayon CD5s which to my ears still beats all the computer based audio that I have heard. It does have async USB and other digital inputs for later, but I think we will see terrific strides in computer audio in terms of simplicity, cost, and quality over the next few years, so I am waiting before if ever) jumping into computer based audio.
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