We first spied Mission's new CD transport back in 2024, but now it's finally set for release, and we have all the details.
The 778CDT transport is part of Mission's 778 Series half-width line, which also includes the 778X stereo amplifier and recently announced 778S music streamer. As such, it has the same 'shoebox' design as these other components, and is the perfect accompaniment to the DAC-toting 778X amp (CD transports lack a DAC, so require one from elsewhere in order to convert the digital CD signal to analogue and actually transmit the sound through a set of speakers).
Like the others in the range, it has a dimmable OLED display and precision-engineered aluminium chassis.
Mission claims the 778CDT offers "exemplary data retrieval and signal integrity". And because it's a separate component to the DAC, it reduces the impact of electrical noise and interference on the resultant music signal.
Mission claims the chassis, internal architecture and shielded transport mechanism are all designed to mitigate against vibrations and interference. It says that "every element has been engineered for high durability and uncompromised fidelity."
Inside, the high-precision CD mechanism and custom-designed CD servo control system should ensure stable disc rotation and clean tracking, while every aspect of the laser assembly and servo is optimised to minimise distortion like read errors and jitter.
The servo and control architecture are engineered with a dual-core processing framework with a 32-bit RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) CPU and dedicated MCU to ensure precise servo control and reliable error correction.
It also has an ultra-low-noise toroidal transformer to help isolate critical pathways. In other words, the power supplies to the motor and laser servo circuits are kept distinct from the decoder stage that processes the digital audio signal, keeping the data stream clean and stable ahead of formatting.
The servo and decoder section are kept in check by a TCXO (Temperature-Compensated Crystal Oscillator) master clock to act as a timing reference. This is powered by its own ultra-low-noise linear regulator and grounding scheme to eradicate power-supply-induced jitter. Mission claims this helps deliver "audibly cleaner transients, tighter imaging and greater musical coherence."
It has plenty of playback options too, supporting CD-R, CD-RW and data CDs, and digital files FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, MP3 and APE via the rear USB-A port.
The Mission 778CDT is out around the end of January for £449 (around $600 / AU$886). That undercuts our favourite budget CD transport, the Cambridge Audio CXC, which costs £499 / $599 / AU$1099.
You can also buy the 778CDT with the 778S music streamer for £1099, saving you £149.
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Read our Mission 778X review
Mission's first-ever music streamer is a versatile, half-width design that promises “heavenly sound”
