CEC TL2N, 120 volt

TL 2N upgrades and more information are available at Audio Union

The CEC TL 2N high performance CD transport with dual belt drive received RED Fingerprint Award from High Fidelity at the end of 2019. When the TL 2N is paired with a DA SL D/A converter the product is greater than the sum of the parts. We are happy to announce that the TL 2N and DA SL Converter received the AWARD – BEST PRODUCT OF THE YEAR 2021 from High Fidelity.

CEC opened a new chapter in music reproduction in 1991 with the world‘s first Belt Drive CD Transport. The now famous TL 1. Creative mastery of mechanical vibration control techniques resulted in this landmark product. The uniquely analog musicality was hailed as nothing less than revolutionary in digital audio. The breakthroughs of the CEC TL 2N have redefined what a high performance cd transport is with the dual belt drive mechanism.

Dual Belt Drive

The dual belt drive mechanism is a completely new development. The mechanism is placed on a larger aluminum chassis for increased stabilization of CD rotation. The dual belt drive system with a large diameter precision flywheel stabilizer improves the accuracy of reading the music data. Craftsmanship and music reproduction on compact disc have reached a new summit with the CEC TL 2N dual belt high performance CD transport.

In order to read the digital signal on a CD which is recorded with Constant Linear Velocity (CLV), the rotational speed of the CD is decreased as the laser pickup moves to the outer edge of the disk. The spindle motor controls the variation of disk rotation speed. Direct drive CD players and transports place the spindle motor beneath the turntable. The direct drive motor shaft is used as the turntable center in a direct drive system.

The advantage of the CEC belt drive CD system over the normal direct drive mechanism was demonstrated first by the CEC’s TL 1. The dual belt drive system minimizes the effects of mechanical vibration and electromagnetic noise from the motors. The dual belt drive design allows the motor driving the spindle and the laser pickup feed motor to be located away from the spindle and the laser pickup. The large 12 cm diameter 380 gram stabilizer increases the effective rotating mass which increase the inertia. The high inertia stabilizes the rotation of CD.

SUPPERLINK difference

The proprietary CEC SUPERLINK connection system transmits music signals and synchronization clock signals separately with 4 BNC 75Ω cables. SUPPERLINK requires no encoding/decoding process for data transmission. SUPPERLINK uses the master clock generated by the D/A converter to achieve a closed loop synchronization. The transmission system minimizes deterioration of the music signal and jitter.

Up Sampling

Sampling frequency of CDs is 44.1kHz, this can be unsampled to 88.2kHz or up to 176.4kHz. High resolution field covers even 96 and/or 192kHz as well. CEC’s listening test shows 88.2/176.4kHz sound better than 96/192kHz. Up-sampling is not useful and feasible with SUPERLINK. Enjoy the rich and musical sound reproduced by the new double belt drive CD transport TL 2N with the CEC’s proprietary belt drive technologies.

CEC-TL-2N Spec Sheet

TL2N_ENG_Manual

Reviews

“.. Thank god, companies such as CEC exist who have spent decades consequently working towards an objective of achieving the most authentic sound experiences as possible with the technical further development of CD playback and always come up with brilliant innovations. The new CEC TL 2N CD drive is undoubtedly one of them.. I can clearly understand the manufacturer’s statement for a voluminous, spatial yet very detailed sound pattern..” Review from HIFI STARS – 2017

CEC TL 2N – Review Hifi Stars

"And at this point please allow me to come straight out with it: Tonally, there is no alternative to the Superlink interface. Any other way of connecting drive and converter results in an audible loss of precision and reduced smoothness in the sound. As if these are not enough exotic connection options for the TL 2N: A „Word clock“ input in BNC format allows the synchronisation of the read-out data with a clock specified by DAC. This is something great for applications where no Superlink connection is possible."

CEC – TL 2N – Review Einsnull

"In fact, the performance of the new mechanism is so impressive that it has forced a major update in the twin-belt design -- hence the new TL2N. But the best news of all is that the new TL5 comes in considerably cheaper than the TL3N it replaces – around €1000 less, depending on country. With both Marc Mickelson and Roy Gregory using CEC transports on a regular basis, you can be sure we’ll be keeping a close eye on these new, more affordable models."

CEC TL5 and TL2N – The Audio Beat

SUPERLINK

SUPERLINK is CEC’s proprietary digital signal transmission system that transports music signals and synchronization(clock) signals with separate cables. The SPDIF (Sony Philips Digital Inter Face) and AES/EBU(Audio Engineering Society/European Broadcasting Union) systems, commonly used in coaxial digital outputs and optical outputs, transmit both the music and clock signals through the same cable, and thus are prone to jitter effects caused by the signals interfering with each other. CEC’s SUPERLINK system transmits these signals separately with multiple cables, requiring no encoding/decoding process for data transmission. It minimizes deterioration of the music signal during transmission by using the clock signals from the D/A converter’s master clock generator to achieve complete synchronization. SUPERLINK is on TL2N, TL0 3.0, DA0 3.0, and the new DA SL.

MCK(Master Clock): The CD transport receives the master clock signal from the D/A converter through this line, and functions as a slave to the DA converter, enabling completely synchronized transportation of audio data.

BCK(Bit Clock): Sends bitclock signals, required for digital data bit identification(e.g. sampling frequency) or signal readout, from the CD transport to the D/A converter.

LRCK(L/R Clock): Sends left/right identification clock signals from the CD transport to the D/A converter.

DATA: Sends audio data from the CD transport to the DA converter.