CD transport+ external DAC

[JDl]

Good Day Audio Enthusiasts, friends.
I hope y'all enjoying your Sunday, giving your systems a workout and your ear drums a good pummeling.
I want to share my latest hi-fi experience with you, regarding my CD listening.
I am as some of you might know or remember a CD only man. A one trick pony you might say.
Although I've always stated on this forum and thought to myself that I wouldn't bother with CD transports and external DACs, the opportunity arose whereby a Chord DAC 64 came up for sale at an extremely good price and being curious, I decided to get it and give it a go.
Anyway, I have some Meridian CD players and in all my research and reading, I know that Meridian made some efforts to make sure that the digital signal that's fed out is as clean as possible.
I started with my 206 and was really quite impressed with this old Chord DAC 64. It has a really nice detailed sound, with great bass and sounds better than any of my CD players.
Today I googled the question;
"Would a Meridian 508.20, be a better CD transport than a Meridian 206"
One of the AI engines, gave me a fairly detailed explanation as to why the 508.20 would be a better transport than the 206 and indeed better even than some transports.
Basically because Meridian made efforts in the manufacture of their players to optimise the digital out put section of their players, if the user decides to use it thus.
So, today having read that, I quickly swapped over and am now trying the 508.20 as my transport.
I put the same CD on that I had just listened to using the 206, and I could definitely here a difference. Improved clarity a generally improved sound over the 206.
In addition, the acquisition of the Chord DAC 64 has caused me to rethink my approach to CD players because I don't think I'm going to go back to using CD players with their internal DAC.
I hope this post is interesting or helpful to someone out there, and if anyone says or thinks that my experiences are invalid, which anyone is entitled to think, because all CD players sound the same, or all CD transports sound the same, or I didn't do "blind testing" I won't be getting involved in any back and forth arguments with anyone about it.

 

[Gray]

The only bit I didn't understand John, is why you felt the need to ask AI a question - that you were in the best position to answer for yourself.

Call me an old cynic (because I am) but I might have done the listening before asking AI....to avoid any possibility of its answer influencing my listening test 😉

 

[JDl]

The only bit I didn't understand John, is why you felt the need to ask AI a question - that you were in the best position to answer for yourself.

Call me an old cynic (because I am) but I might have done the listening before asking AI....to avoid any possibility of its answer influencing my listening test 😉

I didn't specifically ask it, I googled it, because I was interested to know if the 508 is considered better as a transport than the 206.
It responded without me asking it.
Nevertheless, I'd read quite a few times that the 206 is considered good as transport, but I've never read anywhere about people saying that the 508 is considered a good transport too.
That's why I Googled it. It hadn't occurred to me to try it.
I'd already read about Meridian putting a lot of effort into the digital output on the 206, but not the 508.
Surprisingly it is a different sound. The bass is less pronounced, there's more clarity, it might be more fatiguing though. I'll keep listening. I might go back to the 206, I haven't decided yet.
It doesn't surprise me that the sound is different though.
The 206 uses a Phillips single laser, whereas the 508 uses a 3 laser system.
Anyhow you'd be very welcome to pop over (ha ha) for a demo of both.
I don't think you would need a blind test to hear the difference. I don't think anyone would.

 

[JDl]

A quick addendum.
I put the 206 back. There's a certain warmth and depth that I can only put down to the Phillips based, single Laser set up that I personally believe are quite special.
And, glass. I was informed by a Meridian expert, that those old Phillips lasers can go on and on, without failing.