I have recently upgraded my Transporter by having Dan Wright at Modwright replace the output (analog) section with his tube-rectified, output modification. I thought it might be useful to discuss my experience with those who have not yet had the chance to hear this unit compared to the original Transporter.
I had purchased the Transporter and was thrilled with the additional control and access I now had to my music collection (ripped to FLAC). But in comparison to my moderately expensive Musical Fidelity A5 CD player, I was disappointed in the sound quality. [NB: in Audiophool terms, is $2500 moderately expensive?]
I felt that the sound quality, while pristine and accurate, lacked the "breath of life" that I cherish in my music. I go to an average of 2 concerts a month, so I'm intimately familiar with the sound of live music, and the Transporter didn't deliver it for me. I was going to return the Transporter at the end of the trial period, but then I decided to use my Christmas Bonus to do the ModWright thing.
I suppose this comes down to the classic "truth vs. beauty" argument. I think Sean Adams would argue that adding tubes (an antediluvian technology) merely adds a pleasant distortion, but that it does not reflect the true content of the original recording. I beg to differ. I think the addition of the tube stage has recreated MORE of the original musical experience. I don't think this can be explained in terms of 2nd harmonic distortion. My experience is that the ModWright Transporter now has the essence of the experience that it lacked before.
For instance, I'm listening at this moment to Putamayo's "Women of Spirit." This is a fantastic album, if you're into female vocalists. Anyway, I've heard both Cassandra Wilson and Ani DiFranco in concert, and the tonality and flavor of the music through the ModWright is "right on!" {said with an ex-hippie fist raised in the air}. This same album played before with the Transporter was impressive in its detail retrieval, but I didn't have the impression of real live singers, sharing an emotional experience with me.
And to me, music is all about emotion, and not much about left-brain rational exposition. I don't want to think about my music, I want to FEEL it! I am now "Transported" and that's a good thing. So if your Transporter leaves you cold (as mine did), there is an alternative out there which IMHO is a real improvement over the already-excellent original.
Hope this helps rescue someone else from Transporter let-down
Frank
I had purchased the Transporter and was thrilled with the additional control and access I now had to my music collection (ripped to FLAC). But in comparison to my moderately expensive Musical Fidelity A5 CD player, I was disappointed in the sound quality. [NB: in Audiophool terms, is $2500 moderately expensive?]
I felt that the sound quality, while pristine and accurate, lacked the "breath of life" that I cherish in my music. I go to an average of 2 concerts a month, so I'm intimately familiar with the sound of live music, and the Transporter didn't deliver it for me. I was going to return the Transporter at the end of the trial period, but then I decided to use my Christmas Bonus to do the ModWright thing.
I suppose this comes down to the classic "truth vs. beauty" argument. I think Sean Adams would argue that adding tubes (an antediluvian technology) merely adds a pleasant distortion, but that it does not reflect the true content of the original recording. I beg to differ. I think the addition of the tube stage has recreated MORE of the original musical experience. I don't think this can be explained in terms of 2nd harmonic distortion. My experience is that the ModWright Transporter now has the essence of the experience that it lacked before.
For instance, I'm listening at this moment to Putamayo's "Women of Spirit." This is a fantastic album, if you're into female vocalists. Anyway, I've heard both Cassandra Wilson and Ani DiFranco in concert, and the tonality and flavor of the music through the ModWright is "right on!" {said with an ex-hippie fist raised in the air}. This same album played before with the Transporter was impressive in its detail retrieval, but I didn't have the impression of real live singers, sharing an emotional experience with me.
And to me, music is all about emotion, and not much about left-brain rational exposition. I don't want to think about my music, I want to FEEL it! I am now "Transported" and that's a good thing. So if your Transporter leaves you cold (as mine did), there is an alternative out there which IMHO is a real improvement over the already-excellent original.
Hope this helps rescue someone else from Transporter let-down
Frank
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