As for build quality, I've got a Rowland amp to compare it to, which is made out of billet aircraft aluminum with a beautiful milled faceplate, machined buttons, etc.
OTOH, my PD is not quite up to that level. It's just a smidge down. If the Rowland is 100th percentile (I think it is) then the PD is 90+th percentile. The chassis is solid and attractive. If were to judge purely on chassis, then the top Ayre is one of the few that competes with Rowland (I think their chassis are made by the same machine works). The Emm is certainly not in the very top league as the Rowland either. Looking at pictures of the DCS, it seems comparable to the PD. The Chord is so different looking that I can't tell much from the pictures.
So, focusing only on the chassis, the PD is not quite as good as it gets, but it's reasonable close. Given what Rowland has to say about RFI/EMI and how the chassis can mitigate that, I can say that I'd rather have an even heavier Rowland-like chassis, but the plate of the PD is reasonably thick and surely Andreas was fully aware of the digital RFI/EMI issues and addressed those, given the beautiful resulting sound as evidence.
BTW, I do go balanced into my Rowland from the PD, but I used it for a few days with unbalanced ICs while waiting on my new Analysis Plus balanced ICs. When I switched from AP unbalanced to AP balanced I heard no apparent difference; however, I must say, I wasn't really thinking in terms of A-B comparison at the time. Certainly no change jumped out at me. So, I think that the PD will work well in an unbalanced system.
Dave
OTOH, my PD is not quite up to that level. It's just a smidge down. If the Rowland is 100th percentile (I think it is) then the PD is 90+th percentile. The chassis is solid and attractive. If were to judge purely on chassis, then the top Ayre is one of the few that competes with Rowland (I think their chassis are made by the same machine works). The Emm is certainly not in the very top league as the Rowland either. Looking at pictures of the DCS, it seems comparable to the PD. The Chord is so different looking that I can't tell much from the pictures.
So, focusing only on the chassis, the PD is not quite as good as it gets, but it's reasonable close. Given what Rowland has to say about RFI/EMI and how the chassis can mitigate that, I can say that I'd rather have an even heavier Rowland-like chassis, but the plate of the PD is reasonably thick and surely Andreas was fully aware of the digital RFI/EMI issues and addressed those, given the beautiful resulting sound as evidence.
BTW, I do go balanced into my Rowland from the PD, but I used it for a few days with unbalanced ICs while waiting on my new Analysis Plus balanced ICs. When I switched from AP unbalanced to AP balanced I heard no apparent difference; however, I must say, I wasn't really thinking in terms of A-B comparison at the time. Certainly no change jumped out at me. So, I think that the PD will work well in an unbalanced system.
Dave