CD Transports - PS Audio
CDs are still widely regarded as the best audiophile medium to enjoy your music, and a wide range of CD playing solutions exist, ranging from one box CD players to multi-disc players and SACD players. We also offer a range of separate DACs and CD transports which can offer superior performance and are considered the optimum way of enjoying CD playback.
Simpy put, CD Transports place into a single box the transport unit of a CD player, eradicating the DAC. Why? By splitting these modules, akin to a separate power amplifier and pre amplifier, the CD Transport can deliver greater presentation than a one box unit as it is designed for a single purpose and does not share mechanisms or have separate power supplies, etc. We provide free UK next day delivery on all of our in stock products, so you can have your kit ready to use in no time at all!
PS Audio is a high fidelity audio equipment company based in Colorado, USA. For over 40 years the family run company have specialised in creating power related products, amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, DAC's and streaming devices audio enthusiasts around the globe.
The company's mission is to create products to enhance the musical experience and get the best out of your equipment. Proudly family ran, and operated PS Audio have an ethos of community and quality. Employing local artisans, designers and engineers to build the products in house from scratch and make PS Audio products available for a worldwide market
Initially founded in 1973, the company's first product was a standalone phono preamplifier which used a Class A mode and was considered revolutionary at the time. Throughout the years, the company experienced a lot of growth and success with their power amplifiers, CD-Transports and DAC's.
Today, PS Audio have an large product catalogue that is continuously evolving. Some of their modern products include power components such as AC Regenerators, Conditioners and Power cables which deliver clean, clear regenerated power with low noise and distortion levels to your equipment to improve the performance and sound quality.
Unlike CD players housed in a single box, dedicated CD transports take the CD reading mechanism and house it separately in one box, taking the pure digital information from the disc, and requiring an external DAC to then convert this information back into analogue and a form which can be fed to an amplifier. You can only connect them directly to your amplifier if your amplifier has a digital input.
If digital information is just a series of 1s and 0s, then why is one CD transport different to another, and why are they priced differently? The answer is jitter. Jitter when reading digital media such as a compact disc can have undesired effects on the quality of the audio achieved – often manifested through clicks, skipping and poor audio quality. Ensuring you have a good quality CD transport, delivering a good quality signal and disc read therefore, can have a significant impact on the sound quality you experience. Some manufacturers offer improved CD clocks as upgrades for your existing equipment that can also affect and reduce the presence and effect of jitter on your music.
Premium CD Transports use several technologies and isolation methods to evade jitter wholly however possible. These units aim to play the CD as precisely as possible without any risk of interference of other circuitry such as a DAC, and top end models strive hard to separate the transport from the power supply, through anti-resonance systems and damping techniques which avert tremors from the power supply that would disrupt the transport’s laser’s ability to reading the disc. Many high end models are intended to elude the automated loading trays of some CD players. As these mechanisms require power to eject and insert discs, avoiding these can prevent the need for additional circuitry and power, thus further isolating the CD reading mechanism from resonance.
Most CD transports will offer both coaxial and optical digital outputs, giving you flexibility to use existing cables and to pair with a range of DACs or integrated amplifiers with different optical inputs.
