CD Transports - Audiolab
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!
Audiolab is a leading brand in hi-fi offering high-end performance at reasonable prices. Several models from the current 6000, 7000 and 9000 ranges have received excellent reviews and/or industry awards. See also our Audiolab packages
Since its founding in 1983 by Philip Swift and Derek Scotland and its launch of the original 8000A amplifier, Audiolab has been designing products in the UK that demonstrate audio engineering at its best, the range features products born from fervour for music intricately engineered by a team of hi-fi specialists.
In 2010, Audiolab launched its cutting-edge full-width 8200 Series, fusing the brand's ethos of minimalistic, well-built ergonomics and crisp, clear sound with an advanced performance-led design. One year later, the M-DAC arrived seeing in the new, compact LAB Series flanked by the Q-DAC and M-PWR. Since the launch of these series, Audiolab has gone on to win more coveted awards in UK hi-fi publications than any rival brand of top-performance audio electronics. The 8300 series improved upon the 8200 blueprint and refined each component with HD audio technology, better efficiency and enhanced aesthetics.
Audiolab also revisited the iconic 8000 range thirty-five years later with 6000 range, designed for modern audiophiles seeking premium-grade performance, build and functionality at an affordable price. More recently the 7000 range improves upon the 6000 range and flagship 9000 range are the most accomplished products Audiolab have ever made.
The range also includes the M-DAC+ which exploits the brand's experience in industry-leading and multi-award-winning DACs, ideal for listening to music via computer through headphones, or as part of an amplifier - speaker system. The range also now includes the DC Block products, designed to reduce interference and provide a cleaner power supply for your valuable hi-fi separates.
Audiolab consistently strives to achieve excellence in the quality and sound of its products whilst staying true to the philosophy of its founders in creating well-engineered parts that afford high performance sound quality with excellent value for money.
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.
