Is the EMM DAC6e or DCC2 /CDSD the best out there?

Mgottlieb -> are you referring to the original dCS Verdi transport or the newer Verdi LaScala ?

Elberoth2--late 2004 vintage Verdi. DCS indicatd that a separate Verdi and Purcell DSD would marginally outperform the combo, though I'm not sure in what respect. Since I already had the Purcell, that was fine with me. Guido, nice to chat again. I'm not a PC guy; been through NBS, Dominus, a couple of Shunyatas, and I don't remember what else, and always felt that all they ever did was change the sound, not improve it. One somewhere in the system might seem to help, but a second was always too much of something. I'm sticking with my ten Absolute power cords--they do no harm. I don't blink at thousands of dollars for Dominus speaker cables and the same for a half dozen pair of balanced ICs, but can't justify significant PC bucks. Sure, I know a lot of people differ, but my ears hear what they hear. Maybe my Burmester line conditioner does the work some PCs do.

I agree with Mgottlieb. Having owned the earlier dCS combo and then the Verdi/Purcell/Elgar + , I found CD on my Forsell MK IV transport was substantially better sounding with the dCS gear than the Verdi. Of course, the Forsell is idiosyncratic as hell and no longer in production.

Elnerth 2: I noticed in a different thread u had not used the ST cable btwn the Meitner transport and DAC or DCC2. Huge, huge difference. Try it out.

Why so little mention of models that don't upsample and don't use filters: i.e. Zanden and Audio Note?
Just curious.