Transport Recommendations

I need a better transport than my MF E624, and would be grateful if you could let me know your recommendations. My mate is selling his Meridian 588 for around 750 quid, I have listened to it and it sounds great. Any other picks for that sort of money, new or SH, and how would they compare to the 588? Cheers..

 

Check out Stello

 

Buy a mac mini and large harddrive, surely this has the potential to be better than a transport as it is not reading on the fly?

Would come in cheaper than 750 quid as well.

 

thats a great price.

sell the MF dac and use the one in the meridian - only cost you a few hundred that way.

 

Not reading on the fly? I dont understand.

 

What you have to consider is also the quality of the clock driving the digital out. I have a pretty decent sound-card (Edirol FA-101) but the dedicated transport sounds better. What I will do one day is clock mod my sound card

 

This is definitely the way I'd go as well. The Meridian is a super player with excellent residuals. If it's in mint condition you can't go wrong at that price

 

the meridians a good unit .....the better the transport the better the dac will perform ..

 

Seems to be a consensus that the Meridian is a good unit. It certainly sounds good to me. It's not mint, has a few scratches on the glass top, which I'm not too concerned about.

Has been used in a .. 'smoker's' environment, which is possibly of more concern, but yes, the price is good, I think.

Anyone got any views on what effect cigarette smoke might have on a CDP??

 

It will make it smell

The whole thing might need a dust inside, too.

 

you will have a nicotine filter on the laser lens ....it will be making the unit work hard than it needs ....if you use a wet lens cleaner disc it should restor it to as new ...or contact meridian to see what they think.

 

I realise that this will probably sound ridiculous, but .... I'd go down to the local Co-op supermarket and buy the Alba DVD player they are currently selling for £19.99. It's a lousy DVD player but a truly superb CD transport via its digital co-ax output socket. What have you got to lose? ... £20.

 

only that dac's will respond to better transports.....

a friend did the same ....but when he heard my quad99 as a transport then spent loads on a meridian 500[?] ....it may not be false economy ....as you get a cheap dvd. But you may not be doing full justice to your dac.

 

"But you may not be doing full justice to your dac."
____

Yes, I know what you are saying. ... except I'm quite experienced in hi-end transports and CDPs using their digi outputs into good DACs. ... & I really think this silly little Alba DVD player delivers the goods (and probably other DVDPs currently coming out of China. I used to use a cheap Yamada player (see my recent letters in Stereophile and HiFi World), until I dropped it).

I know this seems stupid, but it's what I hear. YMMV - but somehow I honestly doubt it!

I think there are SERIOUS savings to be had here, with no loss of audiophile sound quality (quite the opposite, in fact, although your "street cred" might take a hammering ). Compared to expensive hi-end transports the Alba can equal the best of them (I've owned Meridian 500/563 and 200/263, and Quad CDP99, and Mark Levinson 39 and 36/37 & many others - so I know what hi-end sound is about).

Anyway, that' my opinion!

BTW - forget using the Alba on DVDs, sadly the picture quality is really quite poor. It excels as a CD transport though.
Also, Japanese DVD players don't seem to do this trick. I reckon it has to be cheap and nasty Chinese/Taiwanese ones!!

 

Go for it .....your not loosing too much if it doesn't work out.

I'm not familiar with the alba .....let us know how you get on.