CEC TL 51X CD transport--anybody heard one?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Billy Budapest, May 22, 2008.

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  1. Billy Budapest

    Billy Budapest Forum "Member" Thread Starter

    . . . and if so, how does it sound? It is beautiful, from a very reputable manufacturer (which OEM's turntable parts for SME and Oracle turntables) and has great reviews. It's one of the few belt drive CD transports, and they claim that makes a difference. Dunno about that, but I am still very interested.

    I am thinking about purchasing one of these to use with my X-DACv3 but would like to know about the sound quality before I pull the trigger (natch). Thanks!
     

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  2. EdipisReks

    EdipisReks New Member

    Location:
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    i've heard great things about CEC transports from people i trust, but i've never heard one.
     
  3. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    I own one. I use it with the Ack! dAck DAC. It works great!
     
  4. Alan T

    Alan T Senior Member

    Location:
    Phoenix
    How could you hear it without a DAC?

    Is like an analogue turntable and if you put your ear real close you can hear the vibrations.
     
  5. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    The Ack's designer recommended it as a low jitter transport, which, considering his DAC does not have re-clocking matters. I can only say it sounds terrific. The cymbals and other high frequency information that is most prone to digital artifacts, sounds very natural. Whether it's the DAC or the transport, or the synergy between them, I don't claim to know.
     
  6. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I have an older model CEC transport /player. It is a belt drive that sounds great and has worked flawlessly for over ten years.
     
  7. Billy Budapest

    Billy Budapest Forum "Member" Thread Starter

    You can't hear it without a DAC (unless you buy the TL 51XR CD player which obviously includes a built-in DAC as it is a CD player). However, if you have used a DAC with multiple transports, you will be able to hear the differences between the transports and have a good idea of how the TL 51X sounds.
     
  8. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    The sound differences I heard were slight between it and its previous transport, a Kinergetics model. But, compared to using my Rega Planet as a transport, the differences seemed less subtle.
     
  9. Billy Budapest

    Billy Budapest Forum "Member" Thread Starter

    All I gotta do now is find a US dealer. I've heard that Parasound is the distributor in the U.S. but I can't seem to find mention of CEC on their website nor mention of any U.S. dealers . . .
     
  10. kevinsinnott

    kevinsinnott Forum Coffeeologist

    Location:
    Chicago, IL USA
    Hi Eric,

    I got mine from Hong Kong, a Mr. Eddie Ngan. I will email him to see if they're still selling it. It was here within 36 hours!

    Meanwhile, here's a link: http://www.cec-international.de/pages/s44.html

    They list a Canada/US office.

    Warmly,
    Kevin
     
  11. SBPGT

    SBPGT New Member

    Location:
    Tempe, AZ, USA
  12. Billy Budapest

    Billy Budapest Forum "Member" Thread Starter

    It's a hair over $1k at www.audiocubes2.com ($1099, actually). Anybody have any experience with this retailer?
     
  13. Billy Budapest

    Billy Budapest Forum "Member" Thread Starter

    It looks like the version they are selling is for Japanese current and requires a step-down transformer. I want a US model, so that takes this retailer off the table, unfortunately.
     
  14. samurai

    samurai Step right up! See the glory, of the royal scam.

    Location:
    MINNESOTA
    The North American distributor is Mutine in Canada.
    I own a CEC TL3N Mutine Edition.

    Curious if anyone here uses a CEC DAC.
    CEC seems to be "under the radar" although they
    build full range of equipment; transports, DAC's,
    CD players and integrated amps.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2015
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