should everyone just order emm?


i have levinson gear now, and it of course has been bested by
umteen transports and processors in the last 2-3 years. and now, without meitner, i may as well jump in a lake and swallow a snake. can the most rational fellow music lovers out there (no "asylum" cases please) explain how and why i/we should 1.go for any new major improvements NOW 2. wait for blue lasers(?) 3. buy more REDBOOK CD'S 4. clean off some of my old vinyl and relax to some leonard bernstein or some horowitz. 5. jump into the lake anyway having done all of the above. please advise. thanks so very much.
french_fries
Tvad: The Exemplar is a good modified player. It has a long way to go. For many systems, or for people that enjoy that type of colored or syrupy sound, it is a very good tone control. Very warm and not like real music.

For resolution, soundstaging, naturalness and neutrality, nothing I have heard is in the league of the EMM Labs. There are still some very good players out there that are quite enjoyable, including the Siltech Exemplar, but they do not do what the EMM Labs gear can.
I have not heard the Emm and in all honesty, I am not sure I want to. I like what I have and my Dentist says I have ground my teeth down so much that it is going to cost mor than $6,000.00 to fix it all.
Jtinn, are you familiar with the Audio Synthesis DAX Discrete Variable? It excels at all the qualities you mention regarding the Meitner unit; plus it offers the added benefit of an exceptional digital volume control.
Tbg: That is not fair. I am very objective and thought I answered in an extremely objective manner.

Norm, your biases in terms of listneing are very different than most of the people I run across. Most people I speak with do not like horns and SET's for long term listening. They like it initially for the beauty, but tire very quickly of the highly colored sound. You seem to really enjoy that kind of sound. Understand, there is nothing wrong with that. It is just your preference.

Tucker does very nice work and I enjoy the sound of his gear, albeit, it is not what I look for in my perception of accurate reproduction.

Unclejeff: I too grind my teeth very badly. I have a dentist appointment and am getting fitted for a night guard. My understanding is that continued grinding could possibly damage the occular nerve.

Wellfred: While I am not a fan of digital volume controls and can only equate the loss of "bits" or information (resolution) to prior experiences with digital volume controlled players, I do not have any real personal experience with the DAX in my system. Am I mistaken, or does the Audio Synthesis convert SACD back to PCM?

The EMM Labs converts all PCM recordings to 5.6 mHz (twice DSD) and the DCC 2 has an analog volume (remote) control as well as multiple analog inputs. At first take, it appears fairly expensive, but when you factor in the built in 2 channel (Switchman) preamp, some find it quite a bargain.

If you would like to do a comparison, let me know, I might have someone in your area who would be interested in participating.