Good point, I was not limiting the options to SACD only.
TEAC has long made their own drives. I assume it continues to do so.
Hi Steven,
Some others do make and sell transports that send DSD via proprietary link to an external DAC. dCS, in the UK, T+A Elektroakustik and Esoteric as you mentioned, Mc Intosh perhaps I donāt remember and I can miss some.
All way more expensive than PS Audio though, so I believe the PS Audio proposal is competitive from a cost point of view and judging by my Stellar Gain Cell DAC from a sound quality point of view too.
Built quality and reliability is another issue though.
PS Audio got rid of the no1 annoying issue of the Direct Stream Transport which was the unreliable cover art display. That is good.
The no2 annoying issue of jamming drawer as repeatedly reported on this forum is hopefully also resolved but that remains to be seen. The enclosure is the same. Hope they did not glue on a silver drawer front on the drawer at PS Audio, but worked out a reliable factory fit solution with the manufacturer of the transport mechanisme that can cope with the extra weight of the front.
I think TEAC were the largest drive manufacturer in the world, mainly for computers. After the Marantz CD-94 I only bought units with TEAC spinners so that they remain serviceable. My last was a $200 Tascam CD-200 (now collecting dust). The SA-10 has galvanic isolation between the transport and DAC.
I wonder when the CD spinner will become extinct? 5 years? Rip your CD collection NOW.
Iāve asked about 10 times if itās the M3 drive. Itās been in the market for about 3 or 4 years and apparently proven highly reliable. So hopefully this new unit will outlive its owners.
I have a DMP and happily use it every day, so Iām not really in the market. Were I more flush and not on a small pension Iād go for this new PS Audio transport, but luckily I have very good sound right now. Iād choose the PS Audio over the Marantz because the I2S connection to the DSD for SACD is special. I donāt need the DAC aspect of the Marantz.
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Yet a simplified (yet SACD) option in the better looking Stellar enclosure (my personal taste) and hopefully even lower price level would be great.
If Stellar Gain Cell DAC owners wouldnāt be offered such a Stellar option they would have to buy a different looking box even it was PS Audio made anyway for 3 to 4 x the price of the SGCD.
In which case the Marantz that Steven referred to or the Pioneer UDP-LX800 with Native 4K Blue Ray, two higher grade DACās and balanced analog output for EUR 2000 are very good alternatives.
However I like system synergy in SQ and looks so a Stellar SACD would be great.
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Perhaps they found another Oppo-like outfit, who knows? In which case I would be rather nervous as I wouldnāt want my US$ 6500 transport to become obsolete just because the supplier company of the mechanisme decided to close the business unit without decent notice like the dirty trick Oppo pulled off.
Regardless of the digital lens as buffer to allow failure correction when reading the disc, the mechanics should be high quality to read the discs for at least for 20 years flawless. When spending that much money on a CD Transport Iād want to know what the mechanics are made off.
Paul, I appreciate the prompt personal response, but my question was intended as a joke - can I preorder a trickle-down Stellar version of the new transport? Iād love to have the new unit, but sadly itās unobtainable for me.
Esoteric/Teac, Luxman, Marantz, and I believe Yamaha (not 100% clear from their website info) all make their own SACD drives. Certainly shows that SACD is still alive and well in the Japanese audiophile market.
I see from Paulās later reply that Marantz uses a D&M drive so I had to look them up. Appears that Marantz is a registered trademark of D+M Group, a corporation that has changed hands recently. D+M owns Denon, Marantz, Boston Acoustics, and Polk Audio. I wonder whose engineers actually worked on the project?
Hence why asking if it is the Marantz M3. If it is, and if I wanted to listen to SACD or CD, I would be encouraged to buy this new PSA unit.
I thought it was funny FWIW 
Because thereās been so little discussion about when weāll have a Stellar transport ready, Iām not too sure how viable a pre-order list is for it. With all of the excitement for it here though, I wouldnāt be surprised if we start discussing it more.
Now, back to the new transport!
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Congratulations on the new machine Paul and PS audio
More love Michael
Doh!! Sorry. Going through emails too quickly. 
We use the D and M manufactured mechanism just as Marantz and Denon do, but then we provide everything else including the new galvanically isolated output stage weāve been designing over the past few years.
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So Paul, for those of us who own the DMPā¦does it make sense to trade in for the new transport? And if so, whatās the Delta to do so?
Besides validating my humor, youāve given me immense hope, and a reason to abandon a search for an SA-KI Ruby that was probably going to be fruitless anyway. And more time to put my pennies aside.
Which sounds like really good news, as long as they keep up production or inventory, so the more OEM customers the better.
I had a client who ended up being the main European supplier of parts for a brand of German drilling machines that ceased production 20 years earlier. His warehouse was destroyed by fire and basically hundreds of businesses found their machines became non-serviceable.
Relying on 3rd parties is risky, but often unavoidable.
I am not sure. Specially given that it does not have the Album art display which I luv a lot.
Regards,
Sourav
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I agree with you on the cover art. Something I would have never thought about except for owning a
PWT and now a DMP. Now they are taking it away with the PST.