Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Art K, Jul 12, 2019.

  1. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
  2. Dream On

    Dream On Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Congrat, Art. Looks like a nice transport. Not crazy about the slot loading mechanism but as long as discs don't get scratched and it's not too finicky then it's probably not much different than a drawer. I'd love a CD player/transport with a top loader like Rega produces. Unfortunately their players aren't very reliable.
     
    wgb113, Art K and 2channelforever like this.
  3. enfield

    enfield Forum Resident

    Location:
    Essex UK
    I can feel a debate about to start again about whether a Transport can have any influence on sound at all.It's normally about 50/50 split.

    If there is any difference it would be far less than variations in DAC's.

    Jitter within normal limits (which are very low on most cd players) is hard/impossible to hear.Certainly during blind listening tests.

    Sounds like a 'long-term loan' type of review.Looks like an attractive and well built product though.
     
  4. jonwoody

    jonwoody Tragically Unhip

    Location:
    Washington DC
    I have to say kudo's to Audiolab not just for making a straight up CD transport, which seems commercially fairly foolish, but making one that's dirt cheap. I have zero use for a CD transport, or CDs, but plenty still do and most dedicated transports you see are pretty pricey. Enjoy yours!
     
  5. rebellovw

    rebellovw Forum Resident

    Location:
    hell
    That does look pretty sharp. I was considering a CD transport when my Cambridge Audio 840C - CD transport failed. In the end though I just bought a completely new CD player which solved a couple problems. Not to mention I didn't have the space needed for a transport.

    Nice looking unit though.
     
  6. Billion$Baby

    Billion$Baby Forum Resident

    Location:
    IM AT WKRP
    Anybody that owns a Esoteric/DCS/MSB or other TOTL CD Spinners would completely disagree with you. Adding an External Clock (to ESO/DCS)performs wonders and makes a VERY noticeable difference in sound quality. Yea your probably not going to hear a difference in players costing only a few K or less.
     
    TarnishedEars likes this.
  7. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    Wrong and no debate I’ve done the listening the differences in the sound of transports is as significant as DAC’s. I was as surprised as anyone.
     
    Audiobliss@67, sat7, bhazen and 7 others like this.
  8. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    In the past slot loading was a deal breaker for me and for all the reasons you mentioned. This one is fantastic!
     
    Audiobliss@67 and Brother_Rael like this.
  9. ermylaw

    ermylaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City
    Are you still digging the Audiolab transport? I'm considering one in place of my Marantz HDCD1 to pair with my Chord Qutest. Seems like my DAC might benefit from a dedicated transport.
     
    Art K likes this.
  10. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I went with a Sonic Frontiers CDT-1 with upgraded Neutrino clock, replacing my Tascam CD-500b. I've also owned at one point a Jay's CDT2 Mk2 transport. Both fed DACs using AES/EBU, same as the Tascam.

    When I recently restarted this hobby, I wanted a "just get by" solution to play CDs but did splurge on a good DAC (yes I need to update my profile). The TASCAM spins a disc, it's not offensive, but it doesn't do anything "well." In fact on discs with slight issues, you can hear how poor the error correction is. Some discs sounded like vinyl almost with artifacts coming through. I thought it was something else in my system but fortunately it's just that player. I even took it apart and cleaned it as best I could, but no dice, although I do think it got slightly better.

    Anyway, the CDT-1 is an upgrade in sound. Everything is more "relaxed," which I think is another way of me saying it's not fatiguing whatsoever like the TASCAM can be, there's palpable depth and spacing in the image, and those shimmery highs with realistic decay and harmonic information came back. It's all "there" with the TASCAM, it's just not as easy to find it and nothing really stands out.

    The Jay's was similar, coming from the same transport. I do appreciate that the Sonic Frontiers was less than half of what the Jay's cost me.

    Oddly enough, I found initially that I preferred the "master clock, JET PLL" function of my DAC over the upgraded clock in the transport. But then I realized my older tube preamp was actually a better fit to my amplifier than the new preamp I got recently, and having swapped that back in, now I don't hear too much of a difference in clock settings. So I use "auto" on the DAC now which enables auto sample rate switching when I need it, that doesn't work when it's the master clock. I did have the TASCAM, new DAC, and old preamp all working together at one point and it wasn't anywhere near the level of playback I get out of the new transport.
     
    JayNYC likes this.
  11. toddrhodes

    toddrhodes Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    Just read this review (sorry I didn't do that before responding) - that is amazing that they are packing so much into such a value-priced item. Enjoy it OP, wish it a.) had AES/EBU out since that's all my DAC takes in, and b.) I could probably work around that and have saved myself several hundred bucks. I'm happy with what I've got, but sounds like this transport is serious business. Thanks for sharing.
     
    The Beave and Art K like this.
  12. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    Loving it. Audiolab hit this one out of the park!
     
  13. PhilinSC

    PhilinSC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Tega Cay SC
    Thanks for sharing this - could a 6000CDT married with a [suitable] current DAC equal the performance of a Marantz Ruby at a lower $$ investment, or am I just dreaming?

    If so, which DAC?
     
  14. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    I think it could exceed it for CD. I'm using the Border Patrol DAC SE and love it. Schiit makes a great DAC as does Audio Note. I'm not as enthralled with some of the other popular brands like Benchmark and PS Audio. Personal preferences only.
     
  15. Kristofferabild

    Kristofferabild Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denmark
    Nice design!
     
  16. ermylaw

    ermylaw Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City
    Thanks for the reply. I ordered one today. My current player forced my hand by inexplicably skipping and otherwise acting up.
     
    Westerwick and Art K like this.
  17. Art K

    Art K Retired but not tired! Thread Starter

    Location:
    Corvallis, Oregon
    Although it gets better over time it’s not night and day. It sounds fabulous right out of the box with just a smidge of warmup.
     
  18. Westerwick

    Westerwick Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Another Audiolab convert here ! I have just spent my first session listening to the 6000CDT playing through my Hegel integrated amp/dac and it's by far the best I have ever heard red book cds. I'm very impressed, especially when you consider the price. I can't wait to listen to more of my cd collection tonight !
     
  19. SlugTrail

    SlugTrail Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Northumberland
    It's (the Audiolab) a lovely piece of kit. I've been enjoying one for a couple of months now. It replaces an Onkyo C-7030 that I was using as a transport that I always felt was pretty decent but knew a better/more-expensive transport could sound 'better.' I'd never been convinced by the "cheap DVD player can be as good as anything" debate as I'd previously compared the Onkyo with an old Mission DAD5, which had very average reviews back in the day as a CD player, but was generally considered to have an excellent transport (for the money?) -- the Onkyo is a far superior transport to the Mission. I hesitated to give the Audiolab a go because I wondered if it might be a side-ways step to the Onkyo given it's relatively low price, but an ex-demo unit came up and I took the plunge.
    Compared to the Onkyo (and the mission before it) the audiolab has a much deeper low-end, giving a fuller, more tangible presentation. It also has/delivers/extracts/gives-the-illusion-of a lot more detail than the other transports allowing me (I feel) to get a little bit closer to the truth of the music.

    Although happy with the Audiolab and it's most certainly an incredible bargain, I still feel that there might be better transports out there, but what would I have to spend to achieve 'better?' You'd probably have to spend triple the money before you'd hear much improvement (I'm guessing.) - Possibly a DAC improvement might yield a better improvement-vs-cost, but I'm using a Primare i32/MM30, which is no slouch in grand scheme of DACs.
     
  20. Westerwick

    Westerwick Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    I was considering the Hegel Mohican, it's ten times the price of the Audiolab, would it really be that much better ? I don't teally know but what I am sure of is this little player has transformed CD listening for me !
     
  21. Donivey

    Donivey Forum Resident

    Location:
    NC
    Anybody know of a dealer on the East coast for Audiolab?
     
  22. Madison Mike

    Madison Mike Forum Resident

    Location:
    Madison
    This will be #1 on my list for a transport when my Onkyo 7030 craps out. Frankly I'm surprised it's kept going after 5 years of continuous use considering the price.
     
    CBackley likes this.
  23. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    Thank you! This is exactly the post I wanted to read. I have an Onkyo C-7030 in my living room system, and it does a nice job, especially since I moved my NAD C368 from the basement system to the living room and connected the Onkyo optically. But I want something better for the basement, and after I replaced the NAD with an Audiolab 6000A there (a subtle but definite improvement, or at least so I've convinced myself), I found myself intrigued by the 6000CDT. At the moment, the basement system uses a Panasonic Blu-ray player for CDs; it's not bad, but I know I can do better.
     
    SlugTrail likes this.
  24. psulioninks

    psulioninks Forum Resident

    Location:
    KC Chiefs Kingdom
    Audio Advisor now carries the 6000CDT if you are willing to order online.
     
  25. jcr64

    jcr64 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Indiana
    I've placed my order, and I look forward to taking the 6000CDT for a spin this weekend.
     

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