REVIEW – CEC TL5 Belt Drive CD Transport
Japanese brand CEC’s belt driven CD transports are legendary in audiophile circles but have had traditionally been out of the reach of most people. The £2600 CEC TL5 CD Transport, sold by Definitive Audio in the UK, puts this exotica much more within the grasp of more people and Janine Elliot couldn’t wait to get her hands on it to review for Hifi Pig.
“CEC’s interest in belt drives actually goes back to 1954, the year the Japanese company was founded, being in fact the first manufacturer to use a belt drive on a turntable. Until then we were used to rubber idlers rotating our Thorens, BSR, Lenco, Collaro and Garrard (indeed, the legendary 301 was launched that same year). Whilst CEC’s earliest work on CD players comes from 1983, they didn’t actually introduce a belt driven model until 1991; the TL1…”
