[alexdemaet]

The GS3000x along with a new cd-transport arrived. The sound coming from the GS3000x is a nice alternative to the Ps2000e.

I decided to return the Audiolab cdt and I am already listening to the Pro-ject cd box. It has a Burson dac inside and also a digital output. I bought it from Amazon (for 267 euro!). The dac sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, I hear a little cracking sound when I connect the cd box on the Meier Soul (tried 2 differentcoax cables 75 ohm). Next week I will try it on the Rme adi-2 dac and compare it. When I connect on the Khadas tone 2 pro there's no crackling sound.

 

[grungychamois]

The RS2e arrived. Time to compare a bit.

 

[piglet]

I decided to return the Audiolab cdt and I am already listening to the Pro-ject cd box. It has a Burson dac inside and also a digital output. I bought it from Amazon (for 267 euro!). The dac sounds pretty good. Unfortunately, I hear a little cracking sound when I connect the cd box on the Meier Soul (tried 2 differentcoax cables 75 ohm). Next week I will try it on the Rme adi-2 dac and compare it. When I connect on the Khadas tone 2 pro there's no crackling sound.

I am weighing up different CD transports now actually. The new CD transport is to be used with my very recently acquired Corda Soul Mk II. I'm quite interested in the Teac VRDS-701T which is £2k in the UK. It is a lot but pretty much all my dedicated listening is done with CDs (actually the files from CDs ripped onto my Mac and listened to via Audirvana). It has been quite a few years since I last owned a CD player and, actually, I am finding myself looking very much forward to having one again. I don't have a turntable these days though I have quite a lot of LPs and 12" singles. I don't want to get back into turntables personally, but I really do like the idea of playing CDs again now actually.

 

[xzibit1994]

Anyone have tips to keep the cable of GS3000X from getting stiff & curl up? I had Grado Labs replaced the cable under warranty before and it still happens. I have new version Hemp with braided cable too but the cable is fine.

 

[alexdemaet]

Anyone have tips to keep the cable of GS3000X from getting stiff & curl up? I had Grado Labs replaced the cable under warranty before and it still happens. I have new version Hemp with braided cable too but the cable is fine.

I am very happy with the Grado beautifulaudio adapter.

 

[plakat]

Anyone have tips to keep the cable of GS3000X from getting stiff & curl up? I had Grado Labs replaced the cable under warranty before and it still happens. I have new version Hemp with braided cable too but the cable is fine.

I’ve had some success with slightly bending it in all directions, a few centimeters at a time, starting at the headphone side and going to the connector end. When not used I let it hang or lie loose.
The cable on the GS3000x is notably thicker, so I think the problem is more pronounced there, 12 cores vs 8 or 4 cores on the other series.

 

[ilomilo]

I am weighing up different CD transports now actually. The new CD transport is to be used with my very recently acquired Corda Soul Mk II. I'm quite interested in the Teac VRDS-701T which is £2k in the UK. It is a lot but pretty much all my dedicated listening is done with CDs (actually the files from CDs ripped onto my Mac and listened to via Audirvana). It has been quite a few years since I last owned a CD player and, actually, I am finding myself looking very much forward to having one again. I don't have a turntable these days though I have quite a lot of LPs and 12" singles. I don't want to get back into turntables personally, but I really do like the idea of playing CDs again now actually.

Isn't ripping a CD and playing it back from some kind of computer always the better option? The only downside i see is the time needed to rip the CDs.

 

[xzibit1994]

I’ve had some success with slightly bending it in all directions, a few centimeters at a time, starting at the headphone side and going to the connector end. When not used I let it hang or lie loose.
The cable on the GS3000x is notably thicker, so I think the problem is more pronounced there, 12 cores vs 8 or 4 cores on the other series.

Mine is very hard right now I don't think I can bend it .

 

[rasmushorn]

Mine is very hard right now I don't think I can bend it .

Is that from listening to Grados? ...I sometimes feel the same. It normally goes over after a while.

 

[alexdemaet]

Isn't ripping a CD and playing it back from some kind of computer always the better option? The only downside i see is the time needed to rip the CDs.

I believe a good CD transport can add some characteristics (bass, soundstage, ...) to the sound on its own before the stream is getting processed by an external dac.

 

[ilomilo]

I believe a good CD transport can add some characteristics (bass, soundstage, ...) to the sound on its own before the stream is getting processed by an external dac.

Any CD transport is by itself a worse source of digital data than the ripped data because the data from the CD has to be read on the fly which can introduce errors. The effect on bass and so on comes from the DAC which you also need with the ripped data. I would suggest ripping CDs in a secure manner and then use something like Audirvana or Roon unless the sheer amount of your CDs makes it impossible to rip them all. Or you are going for the experience of taking a CD out and playing it like an LP which is a valid point.

Just saying, we don't have to discuss this any further on here. Drop me a message if you want to respond

 

[drc73rp]

The RS2e arrived. Time to compare a bit.

I want these pads so bad but I don't want to mess up the sound of my RS2X. I know it's sensitive to the pads used and I don't want to end up just wasting my money.

 

[alexdemaet]

Any CD transport is by itself a worse source of digital data than the ripped data because the data from the CD has to be read on the fly which can introduce errors. The effect on bass and so on comes from the DAC which you also need with the ripped data. I would suggest ripping CDs in a secure manner and then use something like Audirvana or Roon unless the sheer amount of your CDs makes it impossible to rip them all. Or you are going for the experience of taking a CD out and playing it like an LP which is a valid point.

Just saying, we don't have to discuss this any further on here. Drop me a message if you want to respond

Thanks for the info. It seems a good tip to not spend that much money on the cd player/transport. But I do like to take a specific audio-cd and put it in the cd player and let it play without the need to spend time on a laptop/dap/smartphone. Just let the player do it's stuff and if you want to swap/pick a song just press the remote and relax.

 

[ilomilo]

Thanks for the info. It seems a good tip to not spend that much money on the cd player/transport. But I do like to take a specific audio-cd and put it in the cd player and let it play without the need to spend time on a laptop/dap/smartphone. Just let the player do it's stuff and if you want to swap/pick a song just press the remote and relax.

Have a look at this cd transport positive video! He does make some good points. But i don't believe it will ever sound better than pure ripped digital data.

 

[ESL-1]

Whatever you plug it into, it won’t have a fat bottom end. There is no chance for that. It’s strengths lie elsewhere.

I believe a good CD transport can add some characteristics (bass, soundstage, ...) to the sound on its own before the stream is getting processed by an external dac.

At the moment I don’t have either of my turntables hooked up for lack of room. I do have a fairly large collection of cd’s and my player for that is a
Theta DS Pro Basic III CD transport connected to a Theta Data Basic II DAC. This combo works wonderfully and keeps me quite happy with this as my front end source. It was not an inexpensive one at the time, almost $5000. One time I tried a high quality Marantz DR-17 cdr in place of the Theta transport. No comparison to the Theta.
If you happen to have a good amount of quality cd’s I would recommend you give them a whirl. There are plenty of good sounding cd players new or second hand that can do a good job. I will say that some of the digital streaming I have heard does not tempt me to move into that. I really should get one of my turntables set up, glorious analog. The Dynavector arm will be mounted to a table that is very similar to the Linn LP12 and was made in the same building that Linn used for manufacturing.

I’m happy with it all and that is what counts the most.