Perfectly sensible with a CD transport and using a better DAC. That said, why do I need to pay 1299 for a data reader?

@Foxrock321

8 ай бұрын

Nope buy a good used DVD player have it serviced and your good to go…I have a Yamaha DVD2300 made in Japan it has all the outputs you need to plug into your DAC … The DAC is where I’d put the money

@diegobalzarini1994

Ай бұрын

​@Foxrock321 why a DVD player? Would a cd player with digital output do the same?

Audiolab 6000cdt transport. Half the price...sounds great

@stercaland

8 ай бұрын

7000 is still like $400 less, and has a chunky tray. I just can’t do the slot loader in the 6000.

For $1,300 it should make coffee as well. Maybe the kind folks at Ninja will make a 20 in 1 Cd/dac/headphone amp/coffee maker, etc. all for $999. Love your vids and the British Audiophile’s as well.

It's an absolutely absurd price.

@iikatinggangsengii2471

5 ай бұрын

just noticed that my returned dac+amp worth over 10k

Jason Stoddard admits that Urd is a niche product. The tray loading drive is one of the few straight-ahead red book transports on the market. Jason/Mike wanted a constant bit rate track following mechanism that was well documented, well behaved, and reliably sourced. A lot of R&B went into the custom USB Audio 2 out stack. And Urd has the longest assembly of any Schiit product.

The future is not $1300 CD transports

@mancal5829

3 ай бұрын

That would be a bleak future, wouldn't it?

1299 and they couldnt put the eject button & you need a DAC 😂😂😂😂

Sorry but I'll stick with my recently purchased used £30 Panasonic dvd player to transport the digital numbers to the excellent dac in my amp.

Schitt is usually good at pricing and products but this is pure schitt at that price

I did not get the impression from your presentation that the CD transport you reviewed is an example of the "Future of CD Players"

if I recall correctly, Darko had trouble loading 1 out of 10 CDs into the $5K Hegel Viking, which seems to me an unacceptable failure rate, even for a player priced at at $500. Glad to see Schiit has released a player that, mechanically, functions as intended.

@DavidSusiloUnscripted

8 ай бұрын

LOL. I had the Schiit. The disc drive is no better than a Panasonic UB820 ($450) but asking at the price of $1.2K. That’s really a scam. Measure the playback jitter of the UB820 vs the Schiit, it’s lower on the UB820. And when you spend $1K on the UB9000 the transport jitter is far below the $1.2K Schiit. A lot quieter, much less vibration, cleaner power supply and already includes very capable DAC and balanced out too.

@TheDealer1228

6 ай бұрын

You're misremembering. It wasn't one out of 10 cds, it was one cd period: the 2018 remix of Pink Floyd's Animals.

Very happy with my Audiolab 6000CDT CD transport (half the price of this Schiit) connected to PS Audio Sprout amp.

@mioszkmieciak1268

7 ай бұрын

Same here, with Blue Node 2i

I bought a Cambridge Audio AXC35 a couple years ago just because I have a lot of CDs. Since then, I buy. CD's all the time. The Sony drawer they use for it seems quite solid to me. Love the Wolfson dac.

wow. a usb switcher for 1300 dollars. sure shiit.

Looks schiit. Honestly I might just hunt down a second hand Sony QS or ES stable platter mechanism CD player and use the digital outs.

The Rotel has a 5 level dimming function, personally i prefer the larger remote too. And the Rotel is a great sounding player, i know, i bought one last week. So schit can keep their schit. I'm staying old school. Sometimes i think progress is just made for the sake of saying look what i can make new, in reality is worse than the old.

Have a look at the new TEAC CD-Transport VRDS-701T, please.

Still use my Rotel RCD-970BX i bought 25 years ago. Use it as transport, but the old dac do not sound bad. Got a very warm sound for a dac from 1995.

The Transport for the URD is Made in Austria and apparently was the best quality they could get.

@andrewbrazier9664

8 ай бұрын

Weren't the early Phillips cd players manufactured in Austria?

@RoryHennessy

8 ай бұрын

According to Project audio based in Austria the two original Philips cd engineers have set up in Austria their cd transports are one of the few available. They have cooperated with. Project and other high end manucures. Think URD had a limited budget for their tray.

I still do not understand why USB-C inputs / USB-C outputs are such a game changer other than being a 'hub' ? What am I missing ?.

Hey Darko, love your videos and attitude...any suggestions for a CD player with carousel changer? My old Panasonic 5disc player is broken X(

My desktop PC has an optical drive and USB outputs. . . . . . and cost me about the same amount of money as the Urd!

@alternatereality7713

7 ай бұрын

I understand folks fascination with turntables as a precision mechanical devices but shiit (t)urd ain’t it. Yeah, just rip cds on a pc and let streamer do the transport. I just don’t feel nostalgic about cds yet.

@antonsiberian

6 ай бұрын

​​@@alternatereality7713I was like you 15 years ago when I went all digital. Then I regret. There is something special in personal collection of music and even movies. I started to collect again. Rip copies are so boring 😢

Sorry, I don't get it. What's the difference between this schiit and a PC+CD/DVD/BD drive, even both plug into a same DAC?

@AT-wl9yq

8 ай бұрын

Better sound quality.

@niklasschmidt

8 ай бұрын

It should be the same.

@samlsecond8200

8 ай бұрын

Shouldn't digital transport always transport exactly the same ones and zeros? Like, isn't that the definition of digital? And doesn't transport just mean "read the data, exactly as it is?"

@JeffMooredotcom

23 күн бұрын

$20 dvd with digital out would be just as good. But this one is called a "Transport" so it costs more. If ya want a good cd player with an internal DAC you can find some really nice ones on the used market. Just picked up a Sony s9000es for super cheap myself.

Thank you for the video. Two points, 1) I use Room or other UNpN/DLNA end point and first rip all my CDs in to FLAC or ALAC and stream internally to my systems with BluSound Node or WIIM Pro Plus end points. 2) How do you rate the Emotiva ERC-4 as Player/DAC to use with a streamer?

sounds like a schiiturd to me....:) John, I love your videos and I love your enthusiasm for new things. I have that some ooh and ahh joy about things also. But, look....this is something to play CDs. As you said, just get the Rotel, or the Cambridge or whatever else. Maybe I am just old fashioned. I just want the best audio I can afford. I don't think everything needs to have the capability to hook up to a computer. But, companies have to make products for EVERY consumer...I get that. Anyway...thank you again!

I keep on going to use my SONY CDP-XA 7 ES for the next 30 years.😂

By the way, much congratulations on reaching 300k subscribers. 300,000! 🙂

John, I enjoy your reviews and/or talks when you are simply sitting at a table with a cup of coffee.

On reason to get an URD is if you have other Schiit components and you want to stack it with them. There is some value in that aesthetic. So Schiit URD on bottom, Loki Max, Freya + Noval for tube rolling. Bifrost 2 on the side. Later an. Yggdrasil + maybe. All developed and made in the USA.

@metalSpike

7 ай бұрын

No stacking Loki Max per manual

One thing I have noticed about my current transport (Audiolab 6000CDT) is that it plays the tricky scratched/pitted discs that my previous players would always struggle with and skip certain tracks. So I guess that is another thing to factor in when buying a cd player/transport - “can it handle the problematic discs?”

@roberthart9886

8 ай бұрын

I am quite please with my CDT6000, especially after adding Ali0E Nordost knockoff Odin 2 coax, Odin Gold power cord and very nice iso deices also from Ali E. AND it shuts itself off

@andrewbrazier9664

8 ай бұрын

I don't like cd slot loaders. Although audiolab have now brought out a tray version of the 6000cdt 👍

I’m unsure why you would take a nice transport with Unison USB hub and plug into a dongle dac, rather than a dac of similar quality? Doesn’t make sense to me 🤔.

@rosswarren436

8 ай бұрын

Guess he didn't have one (price commensurate) on hand so made the best of it by using what he did have. He tried the better Lyngdorf and it didn't work. Rats.

Recently, I got my very old (24 years at least) Toshiba SD-100E DVD player out and have been using that connected to either my Rokson K2 integrated amp or currently my Topping DX3 Pro+ and surprisingly it works really well. I took it apart cleaned the CD tray and motor and it really is as quiet as a normal CD player now. I am sure, I could spend a few hundred or thousand on newer shinier CD transport (maybe my old lugholes aren't up to standard any more) but it is more than acceptable to me. :P

I like this transporter, great idea! Saves having to switch between inputs on my pre amp and gives me back inputs on my DAC for other things.

@Krell666

8 ай бұрын

Finally someone gets it!

Just love your taste in music. You can't combine two of my passions, audio and coffee! I'm actually looking for a "new" second hand CD player. Used market seems to hold more bang for the buck.

What you're saying about the Fiio dongle DAC compared to the Rotel DAC reminds me of finding out that I couldn't hear the difference between the DAC in my 37 inch Panasonic plasma TV and the upgraded Beresford Caiman+ DAC I spent about 300 euros on. I think that perhaps a DAC, nowadays, is pretty hard to get wrong.

Happy to learn that you have reached 300,000 subscribers; congratulations 💪👀. ..

I don't think just a CD only transport is the future of CD players. I prefer the sound of the inbuilt DAC of one of my older Marantz 6003 players over putting it out to my Schiit Modi 3

Hmmm….. Thanks for this video. I have no CD player on my system as my old one broke, and had been considering either getting another (decent) one or just ripping my collection to audio files. So I had been looking at a separate CD transport and a DAC. Now , after this video my consideration is further confused. Think I need to get a large sheet of paper, re-watch a few of your videos and sketch ideas down. This lark ain’t easy, is it? 🤔😎

I don't quite get it. The price doesn't make sense. A CD player with no DAC or AMP and just additional USB inputs/outputs. I am reading some of the comments to my reply about high quality transports, and I am getting even more confused. In what sense the transport's quality has a meaning over the sound quality? It's a digital output - it will output exactly the same zeroes and ones as anything else. The "quality" of this thing does nothing.

@sixergixer

8 ай бұрын

It's a very high quality CD transport (because no DAC) with a very high precision all-metal tray (no flimsy plastic computer drive here) with a very capable DDC (digital to digital converter). Price makes sense, but I'd rather have the transport by itself without the DDC part for maybe $300 less.

@davidatrakchi2707

8 ай бұрын

Totally agree, they want to make you feel the transport is more "professional" and costs more, but I fact, it's not I thought about buying a cd transport but prices in the new and used market are crazy for no real advantage, they even make them the same size

@jp93309

8 ай бұрын

Agreed. For that price at least have a kick ass dac as an option and by god a better tray mechanism. As far as usb connections ago, I say less than a year when there will be more offerings for a lot less.

@Karto86

8 ай бұрын

​@@sixergixerwhy do you need digital to digital converter? It alters the signal?

@Joe-yi8xj

8 ай бұрын

No dac. Until you have a great or even just a decent one like the old CAL transport, you won't understand.

Hi John, great video as usual, with great sense of humor. Now, a question: I have the Tambaqui. What would be a good match for it in terms of sacd/cd transport? Have you had a chance to listen to new PSAudio PerfectWave SACD transport? Tks!

Thank you very much for following up with a stand alone review John!

I've went all out Cambridge Audio this year. I've bought a CXA81 amp, CXNv2 streamer and a CXC CD transport. The transport is connected straight into the CXA81 through optical. It sounds awesome and it was way cheaper than the Schiit Urd. Normal price is 600 Euro, But I've got it for 480 Euro after a 20% discount from Cambridge. I was using a 15 year old Panasonic BluRay drive to watch both movies and listen to music CD's before this. But the CXA81's DAC sounds a lot better. So I am very happy with the upgrades.

@mden2490

8 ай бұрын

I have similar set up, CXC to CXNv2 to Musical Fidelity (M2si) integrated amplifier.

So that price for a red book player that wants to be a digital hub…. seems like another product to encourage falling into the components rabbit hole

What Schiit DAC do you recommend using with it via Coax? Don’t use any USB based DACs.

Anyone know what LED light cable that is? I read zhongshancity defana wire but I couldn't find something.

That Pale Saints record changed my life in 1992, absolutely my gateway to 4AD, purely due to catching the "Kinky Love" video on a late night episode of 120 Minutes. SO underrated. I will absolutely be getting that reissue. According to Discogs, I've got over 3400 CDs; I love them. I have an Audiolab 6000CDT and a Schiit Bifrost 2 that sounds as good as my far more expensive Rega Saturn-R. My only complaint re: the Audiolab is the slot drive, which renders my treasured 3" CD collection unplayable. I may well get a 7000CDT one of these days. The Urd is clearly not for me.

Just wondering where do you buy your jackets? They are really nice!

I just use my Oppo UDP-203 which can also do SACD

Glad I got back into vinyl. I have hundreds of cd's, MoFi, DCC, etc. Sound great in my car !!! Educational vlog, excellent job !!!!!

Hi John, Love the coverage of the Urd but disagree a bit with the use case. I see this as a product most buyers will use to connect multiple sources (taking advantage of the isolated inputs/providing isolation for multiple source components) with at least a mid tier DAC (Bifrost level and up). Not sure I pay Urd money to isolate multiple components and then run them through a dongle (or your average dongle). Nice that you could do that and then upgrade the DAC down the road,..thus upgrading all the upstream sources.

Danke and cheers. I have the Rotel Tribute and love it. Using a Schitt Modi Multibit 2. Great combination and I don't think, in my opinion, buying an Urd would be a big leap in sound quality. Great vide. Keep up the good work. JM

My Cary Audio CD player is Irreplaceable. Old school and super reliable and sounds fantastic. Even by todays standards.

Hey, John, I love the series of videos you made a while back about the Raspberry Pi and notice you haven't done one in a while. Is it because lack of time or do you think manufacturers have improved their products so much so that the use of a Pi in a Hi-fi system is maybe obsolete (or at least even more niche than before)? Love the channel.

@TheDealer1228

6 ай бұрын

He mentioned this briefly in his video with cheapaudioman. Something to the effect of there being more affordable streamers on the market now that they would be more convenient for most people, thus rendering the Pi a niche within a niche.

Congrats on the 300K John

In Colour by The Orb is excellent IMHO as is their previous work with David Gilmour, Metallic Spheres. Thanks for the music tips as always and, I enjoyed your video. I'm watching the evolution of the URD with interest. The Unison USB input/output technology is interesting and it's flexibility is a certain positive. Thanks again.

I love all this future-fi. What an exciting time for audio gear.

I don’t mind the loosey goosey style. I think you still kept things pretty tight and on point. It’s good to add a bit of variety. BTW, the R3 Metas look really nice in white.

I don’t know- if paying that much for a transport it needs to be utterly built proof to actually transport the CD ( think Teac VDRS10 from back in the day) - and yes that’s old and not a design they could use but how about slot load found in car audio?

Darko, thanks a lot for your comments. What about SACD/HD CDs? You don’t care about them, or the DACs will do it and I’m simply too stupid and don’t realize it? Keep up the good work!

@stephenmiller9791

8 ай бұрын

I have a Denon DCD 1600 SACD player. If I attempt to play an SACD disc through my Qutest DAC, the sound cuts out. However, my Sony X800 blu ray player plays SACDs through the Qutest coax perfectly. It's a mystery.

@alvarocoutinho3103

8 ай бұрын

@@stephenmiller9791 isn’t it? Thank you very much for your comment.

The future of CD players should be something like the Technics SA-C600. It emphasises the spinning disc in an attractive and well-built enclosure, it's integrated with streaming smarts and amplification, and - for what it is - it's very reasonably priced. It would be great if you took a look at it.

@andrewbrazier9664

8 ай бұрын

I think it's about 3 times the price of a Rotel A11 tribute in UK so I couldn't justify the price tbh 👍🇬🇧

Slightly embarrassing but… I took a lot of home decor inspiration from this channel as I love the way John integrates his hifi into his living space. So I bought a new tv unit a year ago that I really love, and now John has exactly the same one! Great minds and all that 😂

I can use my Node X for a DAC correct?

You cant polish a Urd

@TriAmpHiFi

4 ай бұрын

not bad lol. full credit. (but it's "an Urd")

John….absolutely gorgeous white Kef R3’s….you did not waste any time. Enjoy!!!

Picked up a factory refurbished Yamaha CD S3000 I am happy with. Most of my stuff is close-out/refurbished.

@alvarocoutinho3103

8 ай бұрын

Great player.

Imo the special bit about the urd is it’s a DDC combined with a cd transport. So hook in your streamer and pc as a source and play away. A good ddc like singxer su6 or su2 KTE or gustard ax17? Or the matrix xspdif 3 is like 500-600 so you get this all in one functionallity. The failure is it doesn’t have I2S output which for many dacs is far better input than usb or aes (Holo May and spring 3 KTE I’m looking at you).

@dennismanning6684

8 ай бұрын

But also, DSD thru i2S = SACD 2ch. No Adobe or DTS decoding needed (sound only BlueRay) Probably have to pay for SACD license though = more $$$s.

Nice Schitty😉 review! Cambridge CXC my choice. What happened to the Kallax? De-kallaxed the apartment, for more stylish furnitures?

I'm from Canada, 1300 USD plus shipment plus import fees makes this unit totally unattractive. Cambridge Audio Transport CXC V2 cost 849 cad (549 USD I think) before 14% HST (not Cambridge CD player 599 CAD $) make a hell of lot of sense. 1300 USD minus 600 USD makes the "USB Hub" Part Costing 700 Dollar. Maybe my logic is wrong but 700 for USB hub (as good as it might be) is way too much. Also the Shanling CD player that Darko mentioned cost 849 CAD in the shop next to my house. When you look at the specifications: Bluetooth, Dac, USB etc ... I will gat much more for my money. And I still do not "understand" the Unison. Then again I'm just an Amateur.

I own a Rotel Tribute cd player. Purchased it for my dining room system.I don't own a seperate DAC . Not as solid or quite as good sounding as my decade old Onkyo C7070 mid range cd player but adjusted for inflation less than half the price. 👍 🇬🇧

I'm a big CD fan, been so since they started making them with concern for quality, those early years were a bit rough but still better than those ticky, poppy, scratchy vinyl things! Love how you point out that streaming services are not the end all to end all. I think, like vinyl, there will be a big resurgence in CDs once the vinyl craze in over. And it will be over. And all my CDs will be worth a fortune, just like my old vinyl was a few years ago when I got rid of it all! Hail CD!!!

Shit Turd. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm here bc I enjoy watching Johnnie and his toys and his music. Are we music enthusiasts who enjoy gear, or are we gear enthusiasts who enjoy music? This video feels like the former.

It supports digital source daisy-chaining, so all of your digital sources can route into a single input into your preamp/receiver. I think it’s pretty clever.

@jamesdwright

8 ай бұрын

Hmmm, then they missed a trick by not offering coaxial/toslink inputs in addition to usb.

I want this in some ways because I love the cool factor of the usb and cd ability. But like many, it just seems very overpriced where I think a lot of people would consider this at $699 or $799. Now maybe it has to be this expensive, but it’s a strange product. The new amp coming out called Midgard sounds very interesting and they are selling that for a very reasonable price like most of their products. But then they try to make a lot off of this and the Yggy or so it seems. It’s probably smart that not everything they make is a super good deal compared to competition. But it just feels inconsistent to the end user when so much of what they offer is a great price.

Interesting adding USB C inputs that can be switched remotely, if you have a need for plugging in a laptop/flash drive or what have you - I didn’t realize there were flash drives with USB C connectors because I never really looked for them,; my equipment is scarce on C ports but have plenty of A’s, so really I would be only interested in how this stacks up to Cambridge and Audiolab offerings. I currently have a CA CXC V2 and it prefers pristine or near-pristine discs to operate well, as opposed to the Audiolab CDT 6000 I had briefly which was less picky.

@jimfarrell4635

8 ай бұрын

Hey, Homer. I'm sure you know this, but usb A to C adaptors are plentiful and cheap. USB C to A are also available and cheap but not so ubiquitous. Amazon in the UK has them for a few pounds.

Great video!

**FABULOUS** & Thorough VIDEO. Really LIKED you putting a $60 DAC into a $15k system, more commentary on this please. Feel free to have more of these unique pairings in the future. Liked you calling out the feel of the drawer, I too believe look and feel are part of the audiophile experience. Thanks.

Where’d you get the aphex twin mug?

Hey you went back to the coffee machine shots, love your coverage on Hi-Fi!

I love the look and form factor, but I just can't see the $1300. Maybe $700-800 with the USB features. It is cool tho, I'd get one if $800 and silver 😎

My current CD transport is the Audiolab 6000CDT - that costs just $550-600US, and it sounds quite good. I was waiting to see what the Schiit transport was going to be, but it was still in design/production development, so I got the Audiolab. It is a slot loading unit, and has a larger full feature remote. Maybe you can review it, as well? I *think* the USB hub in the Urd is acting as a DDC (i.e. a re-clocking unit), and it is galvanically isolated?

Have the Rotel and it sounds great and am really fond of it but the loader stuck the other day and is going to have to go for a repair. Nice mug.

Good to hear the comparison with the Rotel. I have the CD Tribute. Main annoyance is that I can hear the whirring and clicking as it plays the CD.

@DavidSusiloUnscripted

8 ай бұрын

You want quiet get a Panasonic UB9000. That what I use now as a CD player in my bedroom.

Worth mentioning - some of the tracks you've said aren't available on streaming platforms in some of your videos are available on KZread music (albeit from lowish quality video format at times). Not ideal, not audiophile-friendly, but still available. Those spiritualised singles are all on there, for example. Great video, btw.

is it only me, or anyone else is intrigued by that aluminium case? I haven't watched Darko's videos for a while now, have he talked about it in another video? (wondering if it can be used for storing audio equipment )

My problem with these players is the physical size and build quality AND that the laser mechs break and essentially it’s trash. If I could find a decent compact transport then I might invest. Pro ject seem to get the closest.

Real question. Could you try a PS3 (with the PS3 remote control, if possible)? I have a Slim one (there is 3 version: Fat, slim, then lastly slimer) and it got HDMI and optic output. Except some options for some CD player, like being a hub of device to convert to another connection, I really don't see why these optic reader are so expensive. 1 and 0 are still 1 and 0, it doesn't matter how they are transported to your DAC. If the DAC has a "prefered" input for some technical reasons, why not. But the data is the same no matter the connection used.

@johnshore3095

8 ай бұрын

And early full fat ones play SACD too..

@fernandomonrroy9523

8 ай бұрын

Just my thoughts exactly, today I’ve started playing with using the ps3 as a cd transport connecting it to an external dac via optical, why optical? Because it’s an isolated connection, just data, no static and power as with usb. And, I’m not sure what is going on but my cds sounded better than their equivalent on streaming. Why? I genuinely can’t tell, not sure if this has something to do with the mix in apple music being different from the cd, or the hardware has something to do, but I’ll keep digging and if I remember will update the comment.

@guy_autordie

8 ай бұрын

@@fernandomonrroy9523 Could be the Dynamic Range of the CDs better than the recording on the streaming services. john did a video on than. If it was between the rca of a CD player and the optic cable of the PS3, you would have a massive electro magnetic field problem.

Love the way you say The Schitt, John. The Schitt Urd is even better.

I'm still using my Yamaha DVD-S796 to play my CD's!

The T is missing.

Audio lab 6000CDT. Great performance for the price!

60 days ago my old NAD CD Player died. The last few years I was using it with an external dac. I spent 47 euro for a new Panasonic DVD-S700EG-K, and run the coax output into my dac and it sounds good. BTW, judging from your video footage and comments the cd-tray on the Panasonic is possibly superior to the Schiit.

I think there needs to be a middle-ground with remote controls. With a CD player, having the numeric keys makes it more convenient to select a track. Want track 11?.... press [1] [1], rather than [fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd][fwd].

That is some tasty looking Schiit

Im all for cd transports being better than a player. I do have a cxc v2 from Cambridge that cost 600 bucks but that the most i think transports should cost. You dont need anything more with usb input and output because that defeats the purpose of a pure transport. Now if thats a sacd player then sure it justifies the price, other than that no cd transport should cost that high.

Excellent! Finally someone else who loves the Pale Saints! Incredible album!

@DarkoAudio

8 ай бұрын

Yes, it's very good. Intestines on the sleeve IIRC.

1300 ? you lost me ................

The struggle I had was I wanted a transport that would also do SACD, and do I2S (to keep the DSD integrity), which in 2023 basically narrows my choices to the PSAudio transport.

@dap777754

8 ай бұрын

for only $6000+

@RoryHennessy

8 ай бұрын

Stunning sound is worth paying for, says someone who bought Project’s transport!

Congrats on 300000 subscribers!

@DarkoAudio

8 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Philips TAEP200/12 - DVD player for 40 euros plays everything. and is great

Like the idea ,my only caveat is I wished was a top loader as less to go wrong. Do like the Shanling