A 'transport' CD DAC. A CD player by any other name, but it's clearly been following what Shanling, SMSL etc have been doing.
Versatility is one thing but if you already own a decent DAC, wherever it is, it seems pointless to buy a transport with a DAC built in.....A 'transport' CD DAC. A CD player by any other name, but it's clearly been following what Shanling, SMSL etc have been doing.
Versatility is one thing but if you already own a decent DAC, wherever it is, it seems pointless to buy a transport with a DAC built in.....
Not for me as I am still looking for a transport that will also play SACD.
However, it will obviously find a market somewhere.
Question: Don't most modern CD players have a digital out??
And as for £1800??????
I hear you and quite agree, however as a CD Transport it sort of leaves me cold.Shanling, SMSL make several SACD transports - but your DAC will need to have I2S inputs. That's the norm today. DSD rarely, if at all, is capable via optical/coaxial. Which is why I say I2S should become the new norm for digital inputs. Coax/optical just don't cut it today.
As for the price, they are using a truly custom Redbook CD mechanism engineered by ex-Philips guys, an aluminium chassis, with a top-loading drive. These things alone may not fully the price, but then again look at Lumin streamer prices.
It was here too!
I'd rather a top loader than a drawer or slot.....IAG standard CD transport in one of many Chassis
Note: "high-precision CD mechanism and custom-designed servo control" tells you nothing about who actually manufactured it....IAG's transport is very hard to beat in my experience. It's quieter than most (actually pretty much silent), and will read almost anything reliably. That's all the transport needs to do - get the 1s and 0s out to the DAC with minimum fuss.
