The Mission 778 CDP CD transport was designed to be the ideal digital partner for the famous 778X integrated amplifier, but not only, as it can also be paired with any other high-quality DAC.
Mission 778 CDT: Cabinet
The Mission 778 CDP is housed in a compact and elegant chassis that follows the design codes of the Mission manufacturer. It adopts the design and DNA of the manufacturer’s products from the 778 series.
It features a metal grey or black front panel combined with a blue backlit display.
On each side of the display are three small buttons providing the main and common functions of a CD player. In the center of the device is the loading tray. It is very slim and perfectly integrated into the front panel.
On the back of the device are the connections, which are fairly simple for a CD drive that only offers two digital outputs: one coaxial and one optical. In addition, there is a USB output for a hard drive and an IEC 13 power connector.
Mission 778S: Technology
Unlike conventional CD players, the Mission CDT is designed exclusively as a transport. The 778CDT has been digitally optimized for faithful signal reproduction.
At the heart of the Mission CDT is a high-precision CD mechanism and a CD servo control system specially designed to ensure exceptional reading accuracy and stability. A temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (TCXO) serves as the master clock, significantly reducing jitter and delivering a clean and stable SPDIF signal to the downstream digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
True to its engineering philosophy, Mission avoids unnecessary complexity. The essential functions of the circuit — transport, laser, decoder and master clock — are powered by dedicated low-noise power supplies, minimizing interference and preserving signal integrity throughout the playback chain.
The result is a source-faithful digital output, allowing connected DACs to deliver optimal performance.
Mission 778S: Compatibility
The Mission 778CDT is designed to offer compatibility with most compact discs available. In addition to standard CD playback, the 3CDT also supports CD-R, CD-RW and CD formats. High-resolution audio files stored on USB devices (including FLAC, WAV, MP3, WMA and APE) benefit from the same clock precision and low-noise architecture as CDs, ensuring optimal performance on both physical media and local digital files.
Mission 778S: Sound Performance
The Mission 778CDT perfectly fulfills its role, without unnecessary extras. It brilliantly complements the 778 series. Playback is precise and very neutral. It quickly becomes clear that the associated DAC determines the overall quality and may in some cases limit it. The Mission 778 CDT truly does justice to the CD format and can be surprising with its quality, which often has nothing to envy from streaming.
CDs remain widely available, affordable and still relevant today, which justifies the purchase of a 778 CDT. It stays true to its style and offers a modern and streamlined solution that integrates easily into today’s digital systems.
Highly recommended.
