It's truly amazing just how revealing and resolving this transport is.
The Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK2 transport arrived within a week of my ordering it. It was very well boxed and in perfect condition. Pulling it from its packaging I quickly realized that it is truly a piece of industrial artwork. It is beautifully designed and constructed, and I quickly learned that it is also a joy to interact with. Even cold out of the box, the sound was fabulous. I ran music through it for several hours before sitting for a serious listening session. The first thing that struck me about this transport was the soundstage that it presents. Words like “airy” and “holographic” come to mind to describe it. In addition to the soundstage, I am impressed with the amount of subtlety and detail it provides. I began hearing things in soft passages that never caught my ear previously. This included the extended decay of vocals recorded in larger venues, intricacies in the slow fadeouts of some songs, etc. It's truly amazing just how revealing and resolving this transport is, especially since it accomplishes this without being sterile or harsh. In fact, when playing recordings that verge on being hard or sibilant, the Jay’s has often made them much more listenable. This is a musical transport. One feature that initially attracted me to this component is its I2S connectivity, as I knew that it was compatible with my Denarips Pontus DAC. In doing initial comparisons, I have found that when switching from the I2S connection to AES/EBU images shrink somewhat and the soundstage recedes a bit. I’m very impressed with what the I2S connection does sonically, and I strongly recommend this connectivity if you have a DAC that supports it and is compatible with the Jay’s connection configuration.
My only minor quibble with this transport is the inability to dim or turn off its display. I tend to listen late in the evening with lights off and I dislike any visual distractions. I resolved this issue by simply placing a piece of window tinting film over the display. A simple fix for anyone who may have the same concern. Other than this one small issue, all that I can say is “WOW”. This is a truly high end CD transport offered at a very reasonable price. Of course, the ultimate test of any audio component is how well it draws me into the music. I’ll just say that every time I have been about to end a late night listening session another recording comes to mind that I just HAVE to hear through the Jay’s. That says it all…. Highly recommended.
Finally, I’d like to give a shoutout to Alvin Chee of Vinshine Audio. Alvin is the distributor for Jay’s Audio products, and I’ve worked with him to purchase a few audio components. He is a true professional with excellent customer service. It is always a pleasure to deal with Alvin. :^)
Happy listening - Michael Greene
My System: Magnepan 1.7 speakers, Kinki Studio EX-M1 integrated amp, Rega RP6 turntable, Budgie Hybrid phono preamp, Jay’s Audio CDT2-MK2 CD transport, Bluesound Vault 2 server/streamer, Denafrips Pontus DAC, PS Audio AC regenerator, and some of the usual suspects for cabling & accessories (e.g. Transparent Audio, Clear Day, Shunyata, SignalCable).