Absolute top tier DAC for standard res Redbook CD

Matt, have you auditioned the Aerial Acoustics T20 V2?
I know They have been recently discontinued but a friend of mine just picked up one of the last pairs and they sound much better to me than all his speakers before.
For me, the only speakers I have heard that could be mistaken for live music on some recordings.

The ISIS are big and really load the room.

Fischer und Fischer Granite speakers are another one to consider, but not sure if even LauferTecknic carries them.

Matt,

i find your speaker quest very interesting;

I definitely am drawn to a truly full range speaker with deep extension, accurate reproduction leaning towards the forceful side; with a sense of impact and scale that some speakers sacrifice to reproduce the lower frequencies with more accuracy and a sense of finesse. I almost see it as live vs studio... Live is scale, impact and dynamic while the studio recording is more accurate with finesse and the gentle skilled hand of a studio engineer to properly reproduce every nuance.

I also definitely like my speakers with a sense of midrange texture that some may consider colored. Not overly warm or truly colored, but the harmonics that the low midrange creates that are emotion and soul. The speakers that reproduce the source with accuracy and finesse are, to me, frequently lacking texture, complexity and that sense of engaging emotional involvement that is the reason I love this hobby.

it is interesting because the things you seek are attributes of the speakers you just got rid of, the EA MM3's. it's hard to settle for less than we already had. not to say that there was not legit reasons to switch, no speaker or speaker-room relationship is perfect. but the MM3's are 'big-boy' speakers and a hard act to follow.

i owned Kharma Exquisite Reference 1D's for 3 years, then had other Kharma's. they very much remind me of the Martin Coltrane. i also owned Marten Dukes. then eventually i ended up with the EA MM3's for 5 years. i can see where those speakers do come close to the MM3's in some ways, but are not quite capable of the whole picture. they have that transparent and refined ceramic mid-range, and that 'Kharma' coherence. but they don't quite get the total weight and tone in the mid range of the MM3's since they don't quite have the heft in the bottom end.

it will be fun to see what you end up with. good luck on your quest. i can relate to your reasoning's.

Mike, I think Matt liked the MM3s but they overloaded his room.....

I heard the granite speaker twice in two different rooms. Didn't do it for me.

I spoke with the T&F dealer. He insists the Isis are too big for my room and the Ra would do me just fine. He says they go down to 25hz without an issue but the web site says 40hz. He seams to think the Ra are the greatest things since sliced bread. I need to look into the Ra more to see how low they go.....

I'm going to try to hear the Nola Metro Grand Reference (which is rear ported unless I look at the only sealed enclosure model which is, I think, too big for my room and almost $75k). But worth listening.

I'm also going to take a ride to Philly to hear the Joseph Pearl 3.

I have heard the Aerial 20 and I thought it was a tad bright. They are coming out with a new 12 or 13T (don't remember which # is it) and it may be bottom ported and it will use a soft some tweeter. About 9-12 months out. I own a pair of 10T's and I love them. They live in my Family Room and I will never given them up.

I just need to decide if a 2.5 hour drive is worth it to get my ears on the Ra and BMC speakers.....