Setting up a CD Transport. The DENAFRIPS AVATAR

[@net_news]

looking forward to the final review much interested in the differences b/w the Avatar and the 6000

[@varunagunawardane4816]

I have the Audio Lab CD 6000 transport; it was a big improvement from the Denon CD player I had. As usual in our hobby, the urge to upgrade got the better of me and resulted in my purchase of the Jay's Audio CDT2 Mk3. In all honesty, I was surprised to hear the difference in SQ improvement. it's a solid piece of kit, very well built -like tank. I did look at the Avatar but wasn't available for sale.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

I guess many people walk that path from the Audiolab and then upgrade. The Jay looks a bit similar to the Avatar does it not? Thanks for watching 👍☕️🔊

[@frederikjacob1985]

Mooie nieuwe speler Ivar! Ook leuk hoe je het nu gedaan hebt! Veel luisterplezier! Groetjes

[@benfromhaarlem6617]

Boeiend en erg informatief. Nooit gedacht dat de Denafrips zo veel instel mogelijkheden heeft. Lijk me best lastig wat te kiezen: cd's zijn verschillend opgenomen en zullen onvoorspelbaar anders klinken bij een bepaalde instelling. Veel werk (als je dat zou willen) om dan per cd bij te houden welke instelling het beste klinkt. Ben benieuwd naar a/b vergelijking met de Audiolab 6000cdt (die volgens mij onterecht in diverse tests als beste uit de bus kwam in vergelijking met veel duurdere loopwerken......)

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Voor mij zijn het te veel mogelijkheden. Zeker als de DAC dan ook nog zoveel mogelijkheden heeft 🫤 De Audiolab heeft 2 uitgangen en dat is het 👍 Maar goed. Dat is de hobby. Dank voor het kijken 👍

[@charlespulling394]

It seems like there is less that can break on the top load unit, and could be easier to fix if something went wrong, I really appreciate you attention to aesthetic detail.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Thank you 🔊☕️👍

[@andredevries4987]

Hoi ivar. Jou set ziet er nu geweldig uit. Gr André de vries.

[@dirkbusche54]

Its only (boring) interior Content, so I wonder, that I love this video. Please keep your style.

[@saturnfirepaw]

Excellent Video as always. The different clock features at the back of the avatar does make one feel it as an internal DAC BUT the exemplary built quality of the Avatar and the product website does not mention a built in dac. When I have the funds I will be buying my first Cd Transport and this Avatar will be on the list. the Avatar has an amazing various connection choices.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Thank you. I think a good cd transport is a good way to keep your CD’s alive. Make sure to watch my video next Friday before you put it on your list 🤫

[@darrellross8609]

AB, I have Cambridge AXC35 running as a transport. Yes, it was very affordable. I have it in a bedroom with LS3/5A's and a mid-fi system; it's perfection. Best, D. p.s. Cables matter.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Sounds like a nice setup..👍☕️🔊 I know…cables matter. It’s incredible to me that some people still don’t get it 🤷‍♂️

[@alistairwilson5344]

Great video, and yes, getting the aesthetic to your taste is very important-you've got to look at it all the time and not start thinking "That might look better if l move that...". Detracts from the music. I'm like you with a top loader next to my turntable-very practical and looks cool (to me anyway : ) That sort of dictates the DAC and phono stage being on the shelf beneath. FM tuner and preamp on the next, then power supplies and power amp on the bottom. A bit of cable management and it all looks great, is a joy to use and lets me immerse myself in the music all the more. If you get the chance to try out some Black Ravioli Big Feet I think you'll like the improvements to be gained on your CD transport, preamp , DAC and Lumin power supply. I couldn't imagine mine without them now. Look forward to your impressions of the different transports even though, as you say, the Aries is the weakest link .... maybe time to sell more kit and go higher up the Denafrips ladder-second hand of course. Quite a few good deals to be had- over here in the UK at least. Cheers from Sunny Scotland.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Hi there Scotland, thanks for your nice comment. I always try to follow the setup logic that you described. But it’s not always possible. I am still testing the transport on their standard feet. I will look up the raviolis. Thanks for the tip 👍☕️🔊

[@auggysimcity]

i mean kids in china made this cd transport what do you expect?? I went for a used meridian 500 cd transport for 500 USD.. made in the UK.. Still runs excellent..

[@SQTierHog]

"...it is long, it is nerdy, it is completely made for you guys...' Lol, love it, let's go!

[@TheNorliss]

I remember back in the day thinking that top-loaders were inferior. This was most likely because I equated them with top-loader VCRs which of course were the earlier models that became superseded by more sophisticated front-loading machines. Of course, in reality, top-loader CD players/ transports are better because there isn't a draw loading mechanism to go wrong and they are just much more robust and reliable. Good stuff, Ivar.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Thanks man 👍🔊☕️😀

[@darrellross8609]

AB, Forgot.! They are Sound Artist LS3/5A's. Got them for $570, had them in two weeks. No problems with ordering or delivery. They are PRETTY! Best, D.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Nice to hear. And good to hear. I liked those speakers 🙂👍🔊☕️

[@garth56]

Nice little transport gives me vibes of the old Krell transport in a much smaller form factor. Speaking of which why didn't you go second hand for one of these overkill transports?? I use dCs trans and dac which is awesome

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Hi, I am a little hesitant to buy old CD players. Replacement parts can be an issue . Most of them still work fine off course, but that is how Ivfeel. I did consider an old Krell transport as there were some on offer. Beautiful machines.. Good to hear yours is working. 👍☕️🔊

[@garth56]

@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Of course they're working these are new 🙂

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

@@garth56 I was talking about the older machines

[@garth56]

@@theaudiophilebarista2424 mmmmm???

[@tacofortgens3471]

Hope you got dust covers for the record player and CD player. Nice setup nonetheless!

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

I have been playing around with that idea for the turntable for some time now, but they are still a bit expensive. Did not consider it for the transport until now. Interesting tip. Thanks 👍☕️🔊

[@WelkySchullin]

Hey thx for sharing. with this transpoprt you need to get a better DAC enjoy

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Yes, that is what I said in the video. Time to upgrade 😅👍 Thx for watching

[@backrack01]

Does Denaphrips even sell/support this anymore?

[@razisn]

I don't think so..

[@ericlegall5688]

Nice video, thanks for sharing. I am also interested for a review between the Avatar and the 6000 CDT. I own the Audiolab. By the way i'am looking for an upgrade on my turntable (actualy Pro-Ject debut carbon esprit with a 2M Blue), an option on the Pro-ject X2 with an MC cartridge, but i think there is many other alternatives. Your turntable is very good looking, can you give the brand and the model please ? and what cartridge is on ? thanks :)

[@ericlegall5688]

found it. It is a Clearaudio Performance, dated from 2007or around.

[@Niels133]

A black turntable would help.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

I’d prefer a silver transport? Trying to get rid of all those black boxes, but only the black ones were on offer 🤷‍♂️ Thanks for watching 👍🔊☕️

[@alessandrobravi6212]

L'ho preso pure io, ottimo, per ora è abbinato ad in dac Topping D90SE, ma vorrei abbinarlo ad un Denafrips Pontus II 12th, oppure un Audio Gd r8 mk3, oppure ad un Musician Aquarius

[@matthewjoy1864]

Will the Avatar read HDCD/SACD?

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Not sure about HDCD, but it is not an SACD transport. It does read the CD layer off course.

[@roberthaysley4245]

Denafrips does not sell this anymore due to many problems. I have one I bought from Hong Kong. It is defective. It refuses to read and recognize discs. Denafrips refuses to stand by their product because I didn’t buy it from Vinshine. I have found a work around. Turn the player off after each cd. Insert cd while still off. Turn on and hit play before the transport can read the data and it plays. Repeat on every cd. It sounds good otherwise,

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Man, that is terrible. I hope I get lucky, but I am reading a lot of concerning comments on the different forums 🫤 For now my unit is doing very well. Thanks for your comment. People should know this information 👍☕️🔊

[@nissanlemon4054]

The Avatar is a great transport,use a quality power cord and audiophile fuses and its easily better than a Jays CDT2 MK3 in my system I read a review where a stock Avatar was compared to a Jays CDT3 MK3 and the reviewer could not tell the difference.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

Hi, I got the powerchord part covered and a fuse upgrade is on my to do list 👍 Thanks for watching. Do you use the Avatar?

[@nissanlemon4054]

@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Sure do had it since it was released.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

@@nissanlemon4054 Cool. Did you play around with the filter and upsampling settings? I would like to hear your conclusion. I am still playing around with them and at the moment I prefer the sharp filter in combination with 88.2 upsampling And witch fuses did you pick?

[@nissanlemon4054]

@@theaudiophilebarista2424 Upsampling to 192 and fast filter is my preferance,fuses used are Telos X2.

[@razisn]

Sharp and slow filters should only be relevant when you select the upsampling function. They shouldn't have an effect on 44.1 Most all DACs offer upsampling functionality and oversampling filter selection so its use should be moot. One could try upsampling in the transport vs upsampling in the DAC (if DAC allows this) and try listening to differences. Good luck with that... Whatever you will think sounds better it will be mostly your brain playing tricks to you.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

I don’t know why detecting differences would be a trick off the brain, but I would like to understand what part of the transport does the upsampling. Any thoughts on that?

[@razisn]

@@theaudiophilebarista2424 An upsampling chip. Maybe an XMOS one. Or a proprietary FPGA. Not sure why you're asking that.

[@theaudiophilebarista2424]

@@razisn Because I am curious to know 🤷‍♂️

[@theomindschrddr7983]

I have a Sony xa7es as cd transport and reconize that their is not a puck in it.

[@juliusseizure-ni7pn]

Chinese junk. Wonder how long before CDs start skipping or it stops reading them altogether.