– Sweetmeat, head-fi.org
I don’t post much but there is usually a lot of interest on this forum about CD transports. I own 2000 CDs, lots of rare pressings and imports, and to me even a mediocre CD player sounds better than a hi-def streaming service. So I am always on the lookout for a premium-sounding, reasonably-priced CD transport with a small form factor that I can use at work. It’s not perfect, but I think I found my holy grail with the Nuprime CDT-8.
First thing is, this thing is small but heavy, like one small solid brick of aluminum. Fits nicely on my bookshelf at work. It uses the Philips SAA7824HL reader which is Redbook only but it does read RW discs. It has a CD drawer although I prefer top loading like the Woo Audio WTP-1 I use at home. Unfortunately the Woo Audio is too big for work and kind of pricey, the Nuprime is only $795.
However the CD drawer is preferable I believe to a slot-loader like the CD transport my Nuprime is replacing, an Olasonic NANO-CD-1. It didn’t damage any of my CDs that I could tell but I was always worried. No, I am replacing the Olasonic because it started acting very weird after using it 6 only months. The display turned sideways (that’s right) and now the buttons stop working after it warms up. That’s $600 down the drain.
OK the Nuprime is still basically from a “boutique” manufacturer so don’t expect a slick operating interface. The important part is that it sounds glorious, full and balanced, smoother than even the Woo Audio which has some peaks in the top end. In addition to the Nuprime, my work stereo includes Burson Conducter SL with Sabre DAC and Audeze LCD-XCs. This is definitely the best my work system has sounded, I am so pleased.
In addition to the slow (but not that bad) operating interface, my only real complaint is the CD drawer is very loose and saggy, and the depression that holds your CD is very shallow. So when you hit “retract” sometimes the CD jumps out of its holder and jams the drawer open. This freaks out the Nuprime and you will need to cycle the power to get it working again.
But this is forgivable as it is very rare, most of the time the drawer works perfectly. My advice is don’t expect a Sony interface on a boutique product. I do however like that the Nuprime can read and play discs that my Woo Audio cannot, for example Riverside’s Love Fear and the Time Machine which I reordered twice but all copies seem to have the same flaw.
I have no affiliation with Nuprime but since I don’t have any pictures or anything, here is a link to their site: https://nuprimeaudio.com/product/cdt-8-pro
Link to the recommendation --> https://www.head-fi.org/threads/nuprime-cdt-8-cd-transport.897653/