| Having read the manufacturers blurb that this box of
tricks would equal a £3K CD transport we had to give it a serious listen, and
we are so glad we did so. For it is when the Transporter is partnered with
high-end DAC that it truly shines. We were surprised and excited as to how
close the Transporter got to a £3K CD transport hooked up to a high-end DAC,
certainly too close to be ignored. This was all the prompting we needed to set
the task to elevate the sound, we knew it was capable of more and the results
exceeded our expectations.
After extended listening we felt that the Transporter
lacked the refinement, poise, solidity of a similarly priced optical CD
transport. Music through the Transporter also carried a higher noise floor, and
was prone to digititis depending on the recorded material. However, is showed
strengths in other areas, and it became clear that this player could be
transformed to world class with some innovative upgrades. With 1-2 months of
researching upgrades behind us the optimum paths were decided, with primary
focus on reducing AC noise, improving the speed and lowering the noise of
digital supplies, removing clock jitter, improving noise filtering, improving
the quality of digital signal.
Prices start at £541.00 (ex VAT) for the level-1 upgrade
which ticks all the boxes in getting the fundamentals done right, low noise
wideband supplies, ultra-low jitter and direct improvements to digital signal
and connections. The level-2 upgrade is the tour de fort and will convert even
the hardiest CD spinners to ‘lossless’ with a sublime sound and flexibility
from your music collection like you’ve never experienced.
Transporter
Level-1 Upgrade
■ Low noise, wide band shunt regulator for 5V supply.
■ Low noise, wide band shunt regulator for 3.3V supply.
■ OSCON SVP regulation bypass capacitors.
■ Superclock 4 ultra-low jitter master clock.
■ WBT NextGen cu RCA phono for digital out.
■ 1x Bybee Slipstream purifier for digital out.
■ 6N OCC wire for digital out.
Transporter Level-2 Upgrade
■ Cryogenically treated IEC inlet socket.
■ Bybee Large Quantum purifiers for AC input.
■ Low noise, wide band shunt regulator for 5V supply.
■ Low noise, wide band shunt regulator for 3.3V supply.
■ OSCON SVP regulation bypass capacitors.
■ Panasonic FK digital PSU & decoupling capacitors.
■ Superclock 4 ultra-low jitter master clock.
■ Superclock 4 clock PSU.
■ WBT NextGen cu RCA phono for digital out.
■ 1x Bybee Slipstream purifier for digital out.
■ 6N OCC wire for digital out. |
