Why not? I use a 15 year old PC CD-ROM drive as a transport. If it's got a front panel you like, and it's sturdy enough, and you want to spend the $98, why not?

In the grand scheme of things, transports affect the sound of CDs less than cables or DACs do. Is it possible that some transport is so bad that it'll screw up the sound of whatever it's hooked to? Maybe. But someone will have to try it to find out...

I still have the same model when I chose the wrong format (seemed up in the air at the time). Have a Blu-Ray now too, heheh. It's a good player, though I have to say not the quietest of players. I think it has a fan in the back, so depending on how close it is to your listening chair, I'd consider others. Plays DVDs nicely too of course.