Lack of new CD Transports

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by wgb113, Mar 23, 2017.

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  1. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    Curious with the explosion of stand-alone DACs in the past 5 years that we haven't seen more traditional companies move to transports rather than continuing to produce all-in-ones. I realize most people are using their DACs with a computer/server of their choice but why continue to make traditional CD players AND DACs in this day and age?

    Cambridge is one of the only reasonably priced units out there that I'm aware of and I've heard it has some reliability issues which is mind-boggling considering it's $500.

    I wish a company like Rega would put out a top-loading transport-only in that $500-$750 space. Top loading just simplifies things with one less thing to fail. Make it so that for $1000-$1500 you could put together a nice transport/DAC combo.
     
    ls35a, SandAndGlass, jfeldt and 2 others like this.
  2. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    Not sure why a company would invest in a product for a dying media. If I were making product development decisions the answer would be a big no.

    I bought 10 or so cds this month, but it's unlikely they'll see the inside of my cd player. Rip'em and file them on the shelf.
     
  3. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    Kinda like turntables eh? :righton:
     
    ls35a, Tullman, Jim13 and 4 others like this.
  4. Gibson67

    Gibson67 Life is a Magical Mystery Tour enjoy the ride

    Location:
    Diss, UK
    Perhaps in time a new influx of players will arrive, I do believe we are now at the beginning albeit in a infancy stage a CD revival. I can see already early pressing's creeping up in price and demand. I'm certain even it's in a decades time the CD player will resurface as Turntables are returning at the present time.
     
  5. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    LPs won't fit in my Mac Mini.
     
    Jrr and Kristofa like this.
  6. timind

    timind phorum rezident

    And vinyl is on the upswing:shh:
     
    Randoms likes this.
  7. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    Well, there's your problem LOL :biglaugh:
     
    AmericanHIFI and timind like this.
  8. Mitsuman

    Mitsuman Diamond Tone Junkie

    Location:
    Missouri
    Prediction: CD's will experience a revival in the future.
     
    ls35a, Art K, 4stringking73 and 10 others like this.
  9. Humbuster

    Humbuster Staff Emeritus

    Sim Audio makes a very nice transport.

    McIntosh offers a transport, however @ $4K it is very expensive.

    Cambridge offers a low price (<$500) transport. Sounds good for the price, but there have been reported reliability issues.

    I prefer transports as I like the option of an outboard DAC of my choice + there is a real good chance the DAC will have less mechanical issues in the long term.
     
  10. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    One can always use an Oppo 203 as transport.
     
    tmtomh, TeacFan, russk and 2 others like this.
  11. bgiliberti

    bgiliberti Will You Be My Neighbor?

    Location:
    USA
    The future is now for me. I will never trust the download sites for the correct source/masterings (eg., the Walsh, not the Norberg Sinatras; the 1987 Giulini Don Giovanni instead of the 2000 EMI No-Noised, etc etc). I'm also not quite convinced yet that the WAVs and FLACS on the fancy servers will be as good as a plain old dedicated CD player playing the original CD, although on this I'm more persuadable.
     
  12. chrism1971

    chrism1971 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glos, UK
    Huge recommendation for the latest Cyrus CDt (not the older models). I've been using one for 6 months (currently into the DAC of a Naim streamer), highly detailed and confident, hearing much more than before. This iteration of Cyrus's 'investment in a dying media' (medium?) was evidently well worth the million or so they put into it.
    Cyrus Audio - CD t
     
    triple and soundQman like this.
  13. SMc

    SMc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
  14. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    But that's the thing...they're still making CD players and have added stand-alone DACs...I'm saying just make a transport in place of the CD players...sell two boxes instead of one...
     
    jfeldt likes this.
  15. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    True, but you could use any BluRay as a transport as well. My point is...why pay for all of those features/hardware that you don't want/need?
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  16. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    That's a nice looking unit but a little pricey and I'm not a huge fan of the slotted drives - not sure how well they'll hold up over time.
     
  17. wgb113

    wgb113 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Chester County, PA
    I can't get past their early-90's mini-system aesthetics...shallow I know.
     
  18. pdxway

    pdxway Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oregon, USA
    True, but it feels much more solid that all other BluRay players that I have seen. Slot opening and closing is pleasingly smooth and quick. You know, you get that additiinal pleasing feeling of working with higher end stuff. :D
     
    Kristofa likes this.
  19. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Heh, based on my experience with Cambridge it's to be expected. :)
     
    AmericanHIFI likes this.
  20. Claude

    Claude Senior Member

    Location:
    Luxembourg
    Marantz just developed a new CD/SACD drive for their SA10 player which is being released this year ($7000). Maybe the same drive will be used for their future more affordable SACD players.

    In my ideal world, there would be an inexpensive (less than $1000) and high quality CD/SACD drive that I could connect to any DSD-capable DAC, with a non-proprietary connection. The drive would probably last 10 years and more, while the DAC could be upgraded whenever it makes sense.
     
    DrZhivago and wgb113 like this.
  21. GoldprintAudio

    GoldprintAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lexington, NC
  22. GoldprintAudio

    GoldprintAudio Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lexington, NC
    F1nut likes this.
  23. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    I think the reason is that for that amount of money a computer audio set up sounds better.
     
    Robert van Diggele likes this.
  24. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    There are still 8 days to go till April the 1st.
     
    Humbuster and Mitsuman like this.
  25. saturdayboy

    saturdayboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago
    if you know of a $750 transport that sounds better than a mac mini running Audirvana let me know, i'll be the first to buy it
     
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