Roberts Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 TL51X CD Transport Chou Denki Company, which markets its products under CEC, was founded in 1954 in Tokyo. In 1991 CEC released the world’s first belt drive transport TL1, for which it holds worldwide patient rights. TL51X is a top loading belt drive CD transport. It measures 435W x 296D x 98H and weighs 9.9kg it came in a well-packed cardboard box cushioned by foam support. Along with the transport came cd stabilizer, manual, remote, batteries and power cord. The finish is of high quality and the engineering, exceptional. Schematic diagram shows the engineering involved in isolating drive motor, suspension (which uses resonance absorbing material) Bearing system and the CD stabilizer. According to the manufacturer the result is an extremely quiet mechanism that can stabilize disc rotation and eliminate vibration and resonance to read the signal on the CD with highest levels of stability and lowest levels of noise. On the left side of the front panel has a power switch it is either on or off there is no standby feature. Row of tiny buttons on the right side of the panel below the display screen activates skip, search, stop, play and pause. The display is simple; it shows track and elapsed time. At the back there are four digital out puts; coaxial, Optical, AES/EBU and Superlink also there is an AC power connector. Remote Control: Remote is of a minimalist ergonomic design. It is light and molded out of plastic. In addition to operation accessed through front panel, it has, track select button from 1 - 9 and +10, program, Check clear repeat and display dim button. Operation: Upon switching it shows on display the track number and elapsed time. Sliding the door open you place the CD, label side up and place the cd stabilizer on top of the CD. It is a delicate operation since there isn’t much room for your fingers, after the CD is loaded sliding door should be closed manually. And now it is time to sit back and enjoy the music. Setup: Speakers – VAF I 93 Preamp/Dac stello DP 200 Power amp: stello M200 Digital Interconnects: DH labs silver sonic Analogue interconnect: HTCustom cable - KORDZ VORTEX, Speaker cable: Kimber 8TC Room: Listening room measures 3550 W x 2600 H x 7600 L. Fifty percentage of the front sidewalls to a length of 2500 mm are covered with StudioCEL broad band absorbers and bass traps to the front and back corners of the room. Speaker Placement: Placed 1500 mm from the front wall to the front of the speaker and 630 mm from the side wall to the centre of tweeter Listening: I played my favorite tracks from the albums of Larry Carlton, Anjani, Freddie Hubbard, Lisa Hilton, Aaron Neville, Kenny Burrell and The Marsallis Family and I were treated to a very engaging sound, which made me pull out more music to listen. Conclusion: I find this transport brings music to life no matter what you throw at it. Addition of the transport to my system has made me want to listen to music more. If you are looking for a transport around $1700 please include TL51X in your audition list TL51X Specifications Format Belt drive CD Transport Digital Outputs Super link ((Pin D – Sub) AES/EEU (XLR) COAX TOS Optical Power Supply 120/230V, 60/50Hz Power Consumption 10W Dimensions (W x D x H) 435 x 296 x 98 mm Weight 9.9 Kg Accessory CD Stabilizer, Remote control AC Power Cord, Manual Colour Standard: Silver, Option: Gold Belt drive US Patent number-5373495 Belt drive Europe patent number-0536699 Bibliography Europe - http://www.-international.de Japan - www.-web.co.jp Related links: TL 51X - www.audioconnection.com.au VAF I 93 www.vaf.com.au KORDZ VORTEX www.htcustomcables.com/ DH Labs AES/EBU (XLR) http://www.audioc.com StudioCEL acoustic foam www.soundacoustics.com.au BLUE ALERT www.amazon.com/Blue-Alert-Anjani/dp/B000F8O4AE LARRY CARLTON WITH SPECIAL GUEST ROBBENFORD http://www.amazon.com/Live-Robben-Ford-Lar...n/dp/B000LE1JQ4 MIDNIGHT BLUE http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Blue-Kenny-...l/dp/B00000I41G BRING IT ON HOME – SOUL CLASSICS http://www.amazon.com/Bring-Home-Classics-...e/dp/B000H7J9M6 Midnight In Manhattan http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Manhattan-L...n/dp/B000FZEZTM Straight Life http://www.amazon.com/Straight-Life-Freddi...1_5/002-2346648
Drizt Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Field, as always its a pleasure to read your reviews. Thanks for having me over the other week... I had an excellent time and thoroughly enjoyed your very engaging system
Spearmint Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Nice review Field. I’m glad you’re enjoying your new Transport.
Phil G Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Thanks for taking the time to share that with us Field. Very informative!
Peter@DHA Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Hi field, A good read, thanks for sharing. There's no doubt a quality Transport makes an audible difference.
Roberts Posted October 3, 2007 Author Posted October 3, 2007 Thank you Drizt, Spearmint, LD and Peter. It has been a pleasure being a member of SNA, learning and sharing.
junkmail Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Hello Field nice review it sounds like you are happy with cd transport how goes it comare to what yuo had before
Moondog Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Whoa , Awsome detailed post there Field, And thank's for the take away CD from your recent GTG. The sound of the V8 supercars will be thundering through out MD's place over the next few days. Not withstanding some time outs for some music in between, And some elbow excersizes with the drinks, Should You find your self in the area , come listen to the roar, via some tubes , safety belt optional Moondog
Ray H Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Thanks for the good review Field, I dont want to Hijack your post, but I wanted to add some info about the TL-51 XR, full cd player version of this transport (maybe full review to follow, time permtting). I brought this about two weeks ago for 2000.00, RRP is 2399.00 I think, it is basically the same as your transport with a CEC dac included, balanced out balanced digital in. I intend using it with a Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista DAC. But in the week I have listened to it I am very impressed, the key two things about the player I think are natauralness (ie some things sound very real) and listenablility. It is probably the most listenable CD player I have heard at this price. And by way of perspective it replaced a CD/SACD retailing for 4200.00 which sounded processed compared to this player. The only slight negative, and this is very minor is the bass is not quite as strong as the other player I have, but it is improving the more I listen, so maybe I am getting used to it or it is getting better as it runs in. again good review.
unclemack Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 I keep reading about CEC but have never found a retailer who sells them... $1700 for the transport and $2400 for the transport DAC unit sounds reasonable if it is that good. What did you replace with the CEC Raeyz? Sounds like the Marantz SA11... Cheers M
everyones_shadow Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 I keep reading about CEC but have never found a retailer who sells them...$1700 for the transport and $2400 for the transport DAC unit sounds reasonable if it is that good. What did you replace with the CEC Raeyz? Sounds like the Marantz SA11... Cheers M[/b] Sonic Art Audio in Melbourne http://www.sonicartaudio.com/CEC.htm Audio Connection in Sydney http://www.audioconnection.com.au/brand-sp...ent-Electronics All the best ES
Ray H Posted October 3, 2007 Posted October 3, 2007 Unclemack, Yes I think the price for what it does is sensational, there are a couple of reviews and price on this website: http://www.sonicartaudio.com/CEC.htm You are correct, much to my surprise the CEC even with its own dac is a more real, natural and listenable player than the SA-11 i am going to now sell. I hope the tri-vista DAC will upgrade it again. In comparison the SA-11 sounds bigger but more amplified, but voices sound artificial, go figure. But If I do offload the SA-11 I will miss the good SACD playback. I keep reading about CEC but have never found a retailer who sells them...$1700 for the transport and $2400 for the transport DAC unit sounds reasonable if it is that good. What did you replace with the CEC Raeyz? Sounds like the Marantz SA11... Cheers M[/b]
Roberts Posted October 4, 2007 Author Posted October 4, 2007 Hello Fieldnice review it sounds like you are happy with cd transport how goes it comare to what yuo had before[/b] It was a heavily modified Philips Cd880, junkmail. I was happy with it till I changed the speakers from P31 to VAF I 93. Thank you,Raeyz,Junkmail,and MD. MD,Thanks for the offer.I will keep that in mind. I bought mine from www.audioconnection.com.au. (BTW web address is in the related link)
Bronal Posted October 4, 2007 Posted October 4, 2007 Field: thanks for all the info on this. I have just returned the TL-5100 I bought for a refund, as it didn't play CDs of over 60 minutes in length. (It didn't play CD-Rs either, but I knew that in advance.) I've ordered a TL-51X from Sonic Art for $1699 delivered and am hoping it will arrive in the next couple of weeks. I will be using it with my Kora Hermes II DAC. I've ordered the TL-51X on the basis that it will play CD-Rs and full-length CDs - Field, can you shed any light on this? I thought it was a bit strange that Sonic Art didn't have any stock of what must be a good seller for them. I got the impression that they get all their CEC stuff in on back order. This is a phenomenon that I've noticed with many importers - any one know why? At least they don't charge extra for delivery. I really liked the TL-5100 and am assured by Sonic Art that the TL-51X is better. I found the TL-5100 to have a very natural sound, with an almost analogue mid range/top end and heaps of detail. Bass wasn't as crunchy as I've heard, but I'm starting to wonder whether it may actually be over-emphasised in other players. Most of all, I liked the ability to use the AES/EBU balanced connection to my DAC. There was a noticeable drop in background noise and increase in clarity over the normal SPDIF connection. It will be interesting to compare the TL-51X with my Audiomeca Kreatura. Cheers in haste, Alan
Roberts Posted October 4, 2007 Author Posted October 4, 2007 Field:thanks for all the info on this. I have just returned the TL-5100 I bought for a refund, as it didn't play CDs of over 60 minutes in length. (It didn't play CD-Rs either, but I knew that in advance.) I've ordered a TL-51X from Sonic Art for $1699 delivered and am hoping it will arrive in the next couple of weeks. I will be using it with my Kora Hermes II DAC. I've ordered the TL-51X on the basis that it will play CD-Rs and full-length CDs - Field, can you shed any light on this? I thought it was a bit strange that Sonic Art didn't have any stock of what must be a good seller for them. I got the impression that they get all their CEC stuff in on back order. This is a phenomenon that I've noticed with many importers - any one know why? At least they don't charge extra for delivery. I really liked the TL-5100 and am assured by Sonic Art that the TL-51X is better. I found the TL-5100 to have a very natural sound, with an almost analogue mid range/top end and heaps of detail. Bass wasn't as crunchy as I've heard, but I'm starting to wonder whether it may actually be over-emphasised in other players. Most of all, I liked the ability to use the AES/EBU balanced connection to my DAC. There was a noticeable drop in background noise and increase in clarity over the normal SPDIF connection. It will be interesting to compare the TL-51X with my Audiomeca Kreatura. Cheers in haste, Alan[/b] Thanks Alan.Yes, It will play CD-R 's and full -length CD's no problem.You will find the sound of TL-51X same as TL-5100
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