Teac VRDS-T1 Transport

[Qwin]

It is fitted with an early version of the finest Red Book transport ever made. The VRDS mechanisms are to be found in Wadia's and Esoteric's and other top flight high end CD players and Transports. As I say if this works, you are in for a real treat.

Teac no longer supply VRDS mechanisms to other companies, just to Esoteric - a spin off company.

These kind of statements make me laugh out loud, the VRDS mechanism in a TEAC VRDS T1 has as much in common with a high end Esoteric VRDS mechanism as a Fiat 500 has with a formula one car. They are both VRDS just as they are both cars, but that is all they have in common.

The CMK-4 CMK-4.2 and CMK-4.5 VRDS variants fitted to the TEAC T1, VRDS 7, VRDS 8, VRDS 9, P-500 and Esoteric P-500 were awful and easily bettered by Pioneer stable platter machines costing far less.



As can be seen, it has a plastic clamp, tiny brush motor that costs about 50 cents, the whole mechanism is built around this motors bearings and puny shaft and its mounted on a thin "Zintec" steel Bridge.
The Bridge on the CMK-4, as used on the T1 Transport, had a ribbed plastic cover that was purely cosmetic, as can be seen in the strip down on the lampizator site:
http://www.lampizator.eu/lampizator/...1/VRDS-T1.html



This is the VRDS NEO variant used on top end Esoteric models, there is no comparison.



It uses a 6mm bearing shaft, brushless hall effect motor(see below), aero space quality bearings a laminated platter construction, Sanyo Laser and is very, very robust.




The mid range CMK-3.2 variant of VRDS is a much better mechanism than any of the CMK-4.(X) and a machine built around this is worth consideration.
Models like VRDS 10, VRDS 10SE, VRDS 20, VRDS 25, TEAC P-700, Esoteric P-700 all used this variant, coupled with the better Sony KSS-151A Laser assembly.
It has good bearings a hall effect motor and metal clamp, the plastic moulded bridge is well braced and much more rigid than the Zintec one.

This is what this transport looks like:



Strangely enough, the models using the better CMK-3.2 mechanism are not much more expensive on the used market, than the inferior CMK-4.(X) machines.
All but the high end machines, benefit from a Clock and dedicated PSU upgrade and if you are using SPDIF a better output board, using a 75ohm BNC connection.
Do a little research before diving in on a VRDS machine as they are not all equal, far from it!