PROOF THE CD FORMAT IS NOT DEAD: TEAC 701T

Does the TEAC VRDS 701 T transport sound better than a CD player used as a transport? The Audiophiliac thinks it does.

0:00 Getting the best from CDs
1:38 Look inside the TEAC 701T
3:47 Knob feel!
9:14 Compares with Oppo UDP 203
10:22 Compares with Cambridge CXC
11:17 Compares with Jay's CDT2 Mk3
12:05 Jay's ahead by a nose
15:40 So Steve, what do you really think?
16:46 Audiophiliac Viewer System of the Day!
18:01 Outro

[Spock]

Still have the Teac VRDS T1 transport since 1996. Only ever issue was a little plastic barrel that broke.

[samuelreggio]

Thanks for showcasing CDs and transports! Viva physical media!! 👏🏻👏🏻

[geoffreydebrito]

Thank you for confirming that the i2s connection is, when possible the way to go. IMO, the lack of i2s, AES and USB-C connections on the Teac makes it unsuitable for a CD transport in this price range. More and more DACs of comparable quality are including i2s connections. The lack of an industry standard on i2s pinout configurations is both frustrating and counter-productive to progress.

[connorduke]

Steve, thank you, this was a much awaited episode. Teac transports and dacs are really at the cutting edge for their price point (and often well beyond). The Teac UD-701N dac has fantastic feedback from audiophile sites, people are swapping out their Denafrips Terminator Plus for them, but no reviewer has yet managed to present them, would be great if you could!

[brighton_dude]

My Teac 701T arrived with me here in the UK a couple of days ago. I'm really enjoying using it actually. It is a chunky thing! I'm still in the process of getting used to its sound signature however it seems to produce this big very detailed soundstage.

[clivepacker]

Just bought a Rotel DT-6000 CD Player. Most of my collection is CD but the machine also functions as a standalone DAC for coax, optical and USB inputs. It sounds outstanding and is about $1K cheaper than the equivalent TEAC player that you mentioned in passing. There are still plenty of good options for CD playback. I love this machine because it’s both old school and future proof. Spin all my old discs and play DSD256 via USB if needed.

[mannye]

Here's my problem with CD transports... How are they better than a hard drive? I can't wrap my head around all the isolation and smoothness because those are analog concepts that make a lot of sense with record players but I really can't justify spending thousands of dollars to make sure my laser is reading the ones and zeros in an environment that's meant for a stylus reading a groove. I'm not being snarky here. I just really don't get it. How is a CD transport costing $2K better than a BluRay I can get for a few hundred bucks that also offers a clean digital signal I can send to an external DAC?

[gerlachsieders]

Long live our beloved cd's! I love my audiolab 6000cdt, its simple but excellent!

[lamarw]

I like the various directions of your channel. You'll have to spin a U turn turntable next week :)

Bad jokes aside. I have picked up some radio station live recordings recently. 99x live x sessions in Atlanta and others, 99x plays these old recordings on Sunday mornings which you can stream. So, Good to see CD transports still beng produced. I still buy CDs. My streaming service is currently free and used for some music discovery. CDs are ripped in FLAC for replay.

[DaveC.-ddus]

Nice review Steve...I've been looking for more insight on the TEAC VRDS-701T.
I use the TEAC UD-701N DAC/Streamer with the TEAC CG-10M Master Clock Generator...fantastic combo. I only stream right now (rips and Qobuz), but I'm toying with the idea of getting the TEAC 701T, and you make it sound like it could be worthwhile, especially with my TEAC Clock.
Vinyl is my primary source, but I'm always up for improving my bits.

[ivanvillalobos]

Great review Steve! Glad to see companies are still coming out with new CD transport designs! My Bryston BCD-3 is still kicking butt and taking names! (Used as a transport).

[eyesintheskies]

A lot of the audiophiles use music as a tool to listen to their fancy systems but your passion for music itself is abundantly clear 🤛

[Audiorevue]

Fantastic video Steve, and I have to say you know I notice this huge influx of every time somebody makes a video about something anymore that's hi-fi related, there seems to be a lot more voices that pop up lately to disparage and downplay the validity of what the video is about.

Teac makes good products and I haven't personally owned any of their latest stuff but I've heard it in friends and acquaintances systems And I thought overall that it was just wonderful gear.

Thanks for the video Steve and f the haters.

[qualifierswedenab]

I recently tried a ddc between the Jay cdt2 mk3 and my dac and it was a huge improvment.

[Joakim-owyu]

I have a Rega Saturn-R transport since many years and i love it. One of the good things with it is that it have a built in dac😁

[DrGIzmoBRad]

I've three CD transports, a Teac PD-301, a Cyrus CD-T, and an Olasonic Nano-CD1. The 1st two feed Meridian Director DACs, and the CD1 feeds an Olasonic Nano-UA1 w/ SPDIF coax & Toslink optical. The Teac PD-301 into the Director DAC outstrips that of the Teac's analog output.
I'd say that cd transports into external DACs do a much better job than a CD player on its own.

[gebo]

Hi Steve, I own the „little Brother“ of the TEAC 701T, the PD-505T, and run it together with the TEAC DAC/Headphone Amp/Preamp UD-505-X.
It’s a great sounding combination, really worth it's price, and definitely worth a closer look and a review.
By the way – the remote control seems to be identical, and the number keys allow you to program a playlist, if you don’t want to listen to all of the tracks of a record. A function I wouldn’t want to miss.

[RICHIE]

With the better weather, I spent a few hours putting my system outside in our sunken paved area! Lost a bit detail but gained more of a live feeling from the blues alley recordings on cd!

[jamesdellaneve]

I bought a Leak CD transport and a Mojo DAC. Sounds great and looks great. It really shows the difference in production value of the different CDs.

[d.l.whitton]

I have a Musical Fidelity Transport connected via AES to a Grimm MU1 + Mola Mola Tambaqui. But....only to judge whether to rip or not. Rips will be on the disk inside the Grimm MU1. And then they sound the best. Better than played on the transport/streamer/dac chain. Why? No idea, but it is better as a rip than as a CD.