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JASON CD Transport is Weiss new flagship top loading CD Transport. Suggested Retail Price HKD$188,000

The JASON CD Transport we conceived with the goal to play the music from a CD in a most transparent way and at the same time support the D/A Converter connected to the JASON Transport for optimum playback quality. We think we succeeded. With the JASON you won’t look back at any other CD playback solution.

Our renowned MEDUS D/A Converter complements the JASON CD Transport for a truly state of the art CD playback system. The design and electronics are of the same high quality in both units. We included many features in the JASON which make it the CD Transport of choice not only in conjunction with the MEDUS but for all kinds of D/A Converters.

The JASON supports up-sampling of the 44.1kHz signal to 88.2 kHz or 176.4 kHz. A digital level control via the remote control unit is also built in. The DAC++ feature can be switched on to optimize the sonic quality with D/A Converters which have a jitter problem and as a consequence may give compromising sonic results.

A display informs about the track number played, the selected sampling frequency, the absolute polarity of the output signal, the audio volume, the mute status and the DAC++ feature setting.

The IR remote control allows to control all features mentioned above and in addition can set the display brightness.

“I wish to thank you for providing me with the opportunity to share your engineering expertise as manifest in the perfection of the JASON. I cannot contemplate ever replacing it in my system. It is the finest piece of electronics I have experienced in the 45 years I have been an audiophile.”

Robert R. Nowinski, USA

Mechanics
The JASON uses a high-quality top-loader transport system. A heavy-duty motor driven lid protects the CD and also safely puts the puck onto the CD upon closure. The motor is of the same Swiss brand as NASA is using for their Mars mobiles. The JASON employs a twin metal frame. The inner chassis is made of steel and acts as a very effective shield against electrostatic and electromagnetic radiation. The outer frame is made of massive anodized aluminium for additional shielding, resulting in optimal heat convection and beautiful looks. The four feet have been designed for optimum vibration and shock absorption.

Transport
The JASON uses the renowned Philips CDPRO2M transport as its core unit. The master clock for the CDPRO2M unit is generated by our own clock circuitry.

Power Supply
A powerful non-switching power supply is used. All sensitive voltages have their own regulators. The power switch activates a semiconductor relay which only switches on or off at zero crossings of the mains voltage. This assures a glitch free power switching.

Synchronization
An internal high precision and low jitter clock generator generates all clocking signals, including those necessary for the CDPRO2M transport.

Up-sampling, Word-length Reduction, Jitter Processing
The JASON contains an up-sampler feature which allows the basic 44.1 kHz/16 Bit data stream of the CD to be up-sampled to 88.2 kHz or 176.4 kHz for subsequent D/A conversion. Our own state of the art algorithms for the up-sampling as used by many of our professional studio customers are put to work.

Front panel controls
The power switch allows to switch on or off the JASON unit. Five switches to control the transport for skip backward, skip forward, stop, play/pause and lid open/close. A high resolution graphical display conveys information on the track number played, playing time, sampling frequency, output word-length.

Remote Control
The remote control has the standard transport controls including a ten key numerical keypad. In addition there are buttons for various kinds of time displays, sampling frequency selection, output word-length selection, absolute phase switching, volume control, display dimming, overall mute control and last but not least a button for switching the “DAC enhancement” mode (via the jitter processing as mentioned above).

Back panel elements from left to right
USB connector for software download (for software upgrades).
RCA and TOSLINK connector for fixed sampling frequency 44.1 kHz output.
RCA, ST optical, BNC, XLR connectors for single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz output.
2 XLR connectors for dual wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz output.

Mains connector with fuses and voltage selector.

Digital Outputs

Connector Sampling Frequencies (kHz) Word-length Format
RCA 44.1 fixed 16 Bit fixed S/PDIF
TOSLINK (optical) 44.1 fixed 16 Bit fixed S/PDIF
Single XLR Single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4
selectable		 16, 20, 24 Bit
selectable		 AES/EBU
Double XLR Double wire 88.2, 176.4
selectable		 16, 20, 24 Bit
selectable		 AES/EBU
BNC 44.1, 88.2, 176.4
selectable		 16, 20, 24 Bit
selectable		 AES/EBU
ST Optical 44.1, 88.2, 176.4
selectable		 16, 20, 24 Bit
selectable		 AES/EBU

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Since the up-sampling process has the effect of generating a word-length longer than 16 Bits, a 40 Bit Floating Point format is used. This is then reduced in its word-length to fit the standard AES/EBU or S/PDIF formats. This word-length reduction uses the POW-R #3 algorithm. POW-R is the de-facto standard in professional audio for word-length reduction. POW-R has been developed by the “POW-R Consortium LLC”, where Weiss Engineering Ltd. is one of the four member companies. The output word-length can be selected between 16, 20 or 24 Bits, which allows the connection of a wide variety of D/A converters to the JASON.

The JASON uses a special method to treat the output signal so that jitter generated in subsequent cables or D/A Converters has less influence on the audio quality. This allows D/A Converters with non-ideal jitter performance to be used with enhanced sonic quality.

Power
Mains voltage: 100…120 / 200…240 Volt Fuse rating: 500 mA slow blow
Power consumption: 50 VA max.
Power consumption in standby: 2 VA max.

Size
Depth: 30 cm
Width: 45 cm
Height: 6,6 cm
Height with feet: 7,4 cm
Height with feet and open top-loader: 18 cm

Size Remote
Depth: 2,5 cm
Width: 6,2 cm
Height: 16,9 cm

Available Color
Silver, Black

Digital Outputs
# Connector Format Sampling frequency Word-lengths
1 (2) XLR AES/EBU dual wire 88.2, 176.4 kHz * 16, 20, 24 Bits
2 XLR AES/EBU single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz 16, 20, 24 Bits
3 BNC AES/EBU single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz 16, 20, 24 Bits
4 RCA AES/EBU single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz 16, 20, 24 Bits
5 ST optical AES/EBU single wire 44.1, 88.2, 176.4 kHz 16, 20, 24 Bits
6 RCA S/PDIF single wire 44.1 kHz ** 16 Bits
7 TOSLINK S/PDIF single wire 44.1 kHz ** 16 Bits

* This output is muted at the 44.1 sampling frequency
** This is fixed at 44.1, independent of the sampling frequency setting

DSP algorithms
Up-sampling
Volume control
Polarity inversion
POW-R algorithm #3 word-length reduction (dithering)

Chinese

Thailand

Japan

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