Quad 3CDT CD Transport

The QUAD 3CDT is a dedicated CD Transport housed in Quads wonderfully retro inspired 3 series casework.

At the heart of the QUAD 3CDT lies a high-precision CD mechanism and custom-designed CD servo control system, delivering exceptional disc reading accuracy and stability.

A temperature-controlled ultra-low-jitter crystal oscillator (TCXO) provides the master clock for the entire servo/decoder section. Powered from its own independent low-noise supply and grounding scheme, it acts as a rock-solid timing reference. This ensures that the extracted SPDIF digital output is stable and free from timing distortion — which Quad claim helps deliver audibly cleaner transients, tighter imaging and greater musical coherence.

The power supply, which is a linear design fed by a toroidal transformer, has been designed to prevent the demands of various elements power demands interfering with one another. Three independent low-noise voltage regulator circuits are dedicated to the CD servo, ensuring clean and stable operation. 

In support of these advancements, the advanced CD Servo & Control Architecture is engineered with a robust dual-core processing framework, featuring a high-performance 32-bit RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) CPU and a dedicated MCU. This configuration ensures precision in servo control, disc access and reliable, robust error correction.

Internally, the transport mechanism is shielded against vibration and electrical interference. From the disc tray to the digital outputs, every element has been engineered for durability, quiet operation, and uncompromised fidelity with meticulous attention to detail, and is therefore ‘QUAD by the book’.

Multi-format playback
Digital music files exist in many formats and the QUAD 3CDT is designed to offer wide-ranging support. In addition to standard CD playback, the 3CDT also supports CD-R, CD-RW and data CDs, and files in FLAC, WAV, WMA, MP3 and APE formats.


Specifications:
General description    CD transport
Design philosophy and core technology    Compatible with CD/CD-R/CD-RW
Illuminated display
10.9 x 159mm large size full view LCD screen
Remote control functionality
Digital output amplitude    500 +/-50mVpp
Output impedance    75Ω
Frequency response    -0.01 dB (20Hz-20kHz, ref 1 kHz)
Sampling Rate    44.1kHz
Digital output interface    1 x Coaxial, 1 x Optical
Standby power consumption    <0.5W
Power requirements (according to region)    220-240V - 50/60Hz
100-120V - 50/60Hz
Product size W x H x D(mm)    300 x 300 x 101mm
Carton size W x H x D(mm)    420 x 366 x 215mm
Net weight    5.37kg
Gross weight    7kg