Thanks for the link, the review leans a bit on the promotion versus evaluation side of things with a …to be continued… closer.
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Review from High Fidelity magazine in Poland. Translation to English leaves a bit to be desired. The other player used for comparison in this review is the $23,000 Ayon.
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My Jay’s CDT3-MK3 arrived today - I have it playing as I type - will post a review after I let it break-in a bit, but I’ll share a few quick notes: it played every disc my PS Audio PWT would not play all the way through (but that was less than a dozen discs), it is DEAD quiet - I mean DEAD QUIET, and the build was even more impressive than I thought it would be - I’d even say it is luxurious - the machining is superb - love the way the cd lid slides back; has a heavy duty full function remote, and a nice carbon fiber CD clamp (but will still try the ‘bone’). Initial sonic impressions are very positive - music is freer from the speakers (nice sound staging), sounds great at low levels, so far has a sense of smoothness, lots of detail without etch or brightness . . . so far so good . . . running it AES to a Metrum Pavane L3 DAC. I love the aesthetics and functionality. I ordered it through Todd King, the new US distributor - he also does repairs for Jay’s and Denafrips, nice to have US support. Happy listening!
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Welcome to the forum @Tagmin. Thanks for your initial review. I like the mention of the build quality. The website pictures looked pretty impressive; the “luxurious” moniker will now accentuate the visual. I will be looking out for your follow-up impressions for boost to my purchase anticipation.
It’s going to be a little while before purchase my CDT3-MK3 for system two. I plan to pair it up with my Denifrips Terminator Plus. I also plan to directly compare the CD playback to my PST and DSD in system one.
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Thanks for the welcome : ). The CDT3-Terminator combo should give you some extra connectivity options, with some extra benefits 
. Let me know how it goes; I love the Pavane but am curious about the Terminator.
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I have a Bone clamp I no longer need. Hmmmmmm.
I could make you a deal, like any other candidate,
Trading something for it is a fun thought.
By the way, looking at the inside of the CD3 is way more fun than looking at the outside. The pictures I saw made me want to maybe……
Hi Aagen, I’ll try my buddy’s bone clamp and if I dig it I’ll get back to you RE a trade or purchase (if you are still interested). : )
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Glad to learn Todd is now on board. Last I checked he was still working through website design issues. Having a Metrum Onyx it is great to learn the Jay’s/Metrum combo via AES is simpatico. The Jay’s CDT3 Mk3 has been on my mind for some time now. Look forward to your future impressions following break-in.
Al,
As you may recall I have the Jay’s CDT2-MK3 and would also be interested in the “bone clamp” at the right price. Not sure I have anything interesting enough to trade for a super high end guy like you. Please PM me if @Tagmin is not interested. He should have first refusal of course.
BTW, still absolutely love my Jay’s transport with the DS DAC via AQ Thunderbird HDMI cable. Sublime sound!
Best,
Kurt
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Al and Kurt, how does one go off-line to talk about trading for or purchasing the ‘bone’? I agree the inside of the CDT3 Mk3 is the prettiest part - my gosh what a beast. EGH: Also curious to know how the PST/DSD compares to CDT3/Term Plus - please share once you make the comparisons : ). The CDT3 Mk3 was giving me a bit less ‘electronic glare’ on some CDs last night, starting to get the sense it has a smooth, organic quality.
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Al,
Does the “bone” clamp have a similar magnetic feature as the stock carbon fiber clamp? Just wondering how the clamp is secured to the CD drive mechanism.
EDIT: Found a review of the bone clamp that indicates it too has the magnetic feature found on the stock CF clamp. So… I bought one after reading a couple reviews. Should be an interesting tweak.
Thanks,
Kurt
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Alvin sent me this link this morning.
https://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/jay’s-audio-cdt3-mk3-cd-transport
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I have read through this review several times now and now listening to the two transports side by side in the same system going on a month now i completely agree with the reviewers opinion of the two units. The CDT2 Mk3 is a really good transport and if you never hear the CDT3 Mk3 you could live happily ever after. The minute I substituted the CDT3 for the CDT2 Mk3 the difference was right there and the gap between the two only got bigger as the CDT3 logged hours. (I ran a disc in it 24/7 for 10 days to break-in both it and the Holo Spring 3 KTE) After listening to the CDT3 for three weeks I swapped the CDT2 Mk3 back in on Monday morning and let it spin a disc all day until it was listening time in the evening. From the first cut it was obvious what the extra cost of the CDT3 gets you starting with a bigger foundation. How it stacks up to Al’s “might Ethos” at $40k I don’t know and never will but it is more than good enough for me and a great pairing with the Holo Spring 3 KTE at a combined price of $8200. . For the couple of days it was played through the Aqua La Voce S3 via AES and sounded great there too.
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Having both the Holo Spring 3 KTE and the Aqua La Voce S3 do you have a preference with the Jay’s CDT3 Mk3? I picked up a CDT2 Mk3, as I just had to hear it, and must say I am impressed. No high priced I2S HDMI at this point, but the level of detail is much improved all the same. Still preferring vinyl though.
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I prefer the Spring 3 KTE via an Inakustik Exzellenz II HDMI cable. I picked up the Inakustik cable from a dealer in the EU for less than $100. Also tried the Wireworld Sphere 48 OCC HDMI cable also very good at a fair price. I’ve got one of Brad at RAL’s umbilical cables for my Supratek preamp and had no problems with the order at all but no real desire to order the HDMI cable and certainly not a Dragon.
Not having them in the same place I am going by aural memory alone but I would say the reviewers who have had both the Spring 3 KTE and the May KTE in their system are correct in that the Spring 3 KTE will get you 95% there with the difference coming from the separate power supply. Even if you decided to move up to the May KTE you still will probably be well under the price of the Mk II whenever it eventually gets released.
Thanks for the review. I’m running my CDT2 Mk3 to the Spring 3 KTE, and have been trying to decide whether to upgrade to the CDT3 Mk3. I suspect I will eventually but for the near future I’ll probably stick with the CDT2.
My RAL and WWPS7 are long gone. I’m in no hurry to upgrade wire at the moment, as I’m still on a search. Not so much interested in a MkII. From what I have heard so far the all in one SimAudio 650D is pretty good as is the MBL N31. The MBL aesthetic is a bit over the top to my eye. I prefer inconspicuous.
The Dragon is the final step.
It is so worthy.
And I am so NOT an AQ fan.
But I stepped through Wireworld Silver, then Platinum, then RAL twice. Then the Dragon. The biggest jump was from the Wireworld Platinum to the RAL. Not quite as big a jump from the RAL to the Dragon but who knew a jump was possible? It definitely is and the Dragon delivers.
If I didn’t already own the Ethos I would definitely be buying a CDT3-MK3.
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I’m there with ya brother!
From what i am hearing with the CDT2 Mk3 I am kicking around the idea of the CDT3 Mk3. Not there yet as I’ll need to find a proper DAC to mate it with. That’s one reason I like the notion of an all in one.
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You’ll know it when you here it and part of the fun is the search. I was already using the Inakustik Reference USB cable I bought from SGC so I knew I liked their signature. Just kept searching the internet until I found a dealer with a couple of the HDMI cables at a good price.
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