Audiolab 6000 Series CD Transport

I've been listening to this for a couple of months now, and I'm quite happy with it. It replaced a pretty-good-quality audiophile CD player (Emotiva ERC-3) whose shortfall was a noisy transport (my listening space has me 6 feet or so from the equipment rack). The 6000CDT is silent--there's almost no sound when it's seeking a track, and nothing audible while playing. The controls are simple and logical, and I like the fact that it doesn't automatically start playing when a disk is loaded. I was a little leery of the slot feed (v. slide-out tray), but it's been reliable so far. The remote could be a little better--it's a little fussy about how long buttons are held down, especially for disc ejection--but overall it spins CDs and ships the bit stream out the signal outputs, which is all one needs. (Obviously, since it's only a transport it's dependent on the outboard DAC it feeds to--I'm reviewing it only as a transport.)

I am not an audiophile, but it sounds great to me. I have it paired with an old Topping TP-31 Amplifier and Micca MB42 Bookshelf Speakers (using high quality speaker cables), and the sound is very clear. It was more than I was planning on spending , but I am happy I did. The sound quality makes it worth it.

I was using a very good DVD player through a Topping DAC. Sound quality was pretty good, but not what I wanted. I purchased a brand name top of the line CD player and ran it through the DAC. It sounded great. The only issue I had was the LCD display stopped working after one day, so I returned it. Since I was already was using a separate DAC, I decided to spend the extra money and opted for the Audiolab 6000CDT transport; after reading too many rave reviews about the Audiolab. The difference was astounding. I was hearing stuff from my CDs I’d never experienced before. The transport is very well made. The front face buttons are firm to the touch, not flimsy. The LCD display is bright and legible. The remote is sturdy and functional and easy to use without unnecessary buttons or a steep learning curve. I am very happy with my decision, and I would highly recommend this transport if you have the inclination to upgrade your system and audio experience. Don’t forget to get a quality DAC because it won’t work unless there’s one somewhere in your system. A stand alone DAC is advisable for the total sonic experience. Don’t forget a quality coax cable.

This transport along with a high end DAC is really quite impressive. Clean, accurate, sound is what you can expect. I hope it lasts. Simple straightforward operation, it allows the DAC to do whatever it is capable of. I'm using it with a Levinson 360 [1999] which has never sounded better. It plays discs that my previous transport read as defective. The slot loading worried me a little at first but seems to be OK thus far.

It’s a CD transport that I connect to my external DAC (Node) via optical. No issues with it so far. But since I’ve had it only a few weeks, these are only my initial impressions. Sturdy construction. It’s as advertised. Read and watched multiple reviews to obtain an overall “feel” before I purchased. I am pleased thus far as it is a simple device to operate via the remote. The remote has limited options and is quite large for its limited use with the transport. Too many buttons that don’t operate anything on the transport. And I realize those extras are for the Audiolab companion that one can purchase along with the transport. Why not a smaller remote just for the transport?