High-End CD Sound Without Breaking the Bank: SMSL PL200T CD transport review!

--------------------------------------------------------------------- Remote beer tap control :D https://paypal.me/hfzytreviews Behind the scenes photos:   / hifi_zone_yt   --------------------------------------------------------------------- Im sure all of you have a stash of CDs somewhere home - maybe even some "mixtape" cds recorded 20-30 years ago. It seems that CDs are getting traction again as with them you actually OWN the recording and nobody will remove it remotely from your playlists ;) And it seems that CD players are a new "niche" as there's no real competition: second hand 30yo units are hardly a choice now, and audiophile players that are being sold now are 2-3 orders of magnitude more expensive: again, not really a choice. If you are serious about your CD collection, if you have an excellent DAC too - then PL200T should be on your short list. Especially if you also use precise 10MHz external clock source for your audio gear. As with other SMSL gear, I got that one directly from Aoshida. It seems that for brands like SMSL, Topping etc they have lower overall costs than Ali - but they still do follow big Ali sales calendar so the prices are dropping on the same day. Thats the store link to the offer I used (worldwide shipping, it was extremely fast to Europe) https://aoshida-audio.com/products/sm... and Amazon link if thats more convenient for guys in US: https://amzn.to/4kb3DiG -------------------------- Audio setup used in testing (you can find reviews of most of these in my channel): FLAC/DSD files - Foobar2k - Fully passive 11th gen Intel PCwih LPS - SMSL PL200T - X26III - fk Dragon XLR - 2x851W - fk Dragon Full Range - Dali ikon 1 mk2, Dali Opticon 1, Oatlons (big and small) ML 15i, ML 35Xti, ML XT B100, ML Ascent I speakers. Power: two Pavalle power strips with additional DIY EMI filters, power cords: fk AQ Dragons Source (DACs) fk AQ Dragon HC (amplifiers) and RCore LPSes with Sonic Scientific Hades for HTPC, Su-6 and OCXO power supply. More links for that gear can be found in my reviews. ------------------------- SUMMER SALE SPECIAL VALID STORE WIDE (EVERYTHING!) FROM JUNE 1st to JUNE 10th ONLY! These codes unlock an extra 20% OFF on top of the sale price — yes, they stack! US Codes: $15-3: 【USSU3】 $49-8: 【USSU8】 $99-18: 【USSU18】 $159-29: 【USSU29】 $249-40: 【USSU40】 $339-58: 【USSU58】 $499-75: 【USSU75】 $599-93: 【USSU93】 $700-120: 【USSU120】 Global codes - slightly lower discounts: $15-3: 【GBZ3】 $39-6: 【GBZ6】 $69-10: 【GBZ10】 $99-15: 【GBZ15】 $139-20: 【GBZ20】 $169-25: 【GBZ25】 $249-35: 【GBZ35】 $359-50: 【GBZ50】 All earlier sets are gone, this ones will be valid until 10th of June for most countries. Grab them while they are here, as there are some big changes coming and this may be the last set I will have access to. There is also another generic set for US only, these should be valid until 2026-06 (but may already be dead, I have no way to check that): $39-5: 【ZONE】 $89-10: 【ZONE10】 $149-25: 【ZONE25】 $259-45: 【ZONE45】 $349-60: 【ZONE60】 $459-70: 【ZONE70】 $599-120: 【ZONE120】 -------------------------