High resolution digital is dead. The best DAC's killed it.

Stereophile F...d Up on their review of the EAR Acute Classic, beginning with a defective unit (overdriving inputs with a 6 volt output) that sounded terrible, bright and brittle.  They did not review the prior units. 

Everyone else reviewed various models and found them exquisetly analoglike WITH NO HIGH END DISTORTIONS OR BRIGHTNESS.  Since I've owned the Acute 1 for 13 years using especially rich sounding tubes, I do not hear brightness.  I've heard the Acute III and the Acute Classic.  NO BRIGHTNESS even with stock tubes.  These are great sounding CD players.  I've included several other Classic reviews previously.  No mention that it sounds bright or with a peaked treble.  I would said so as I've heard so many CD players (probably 100 by now) in my home, at friends homes and at audio shows.  The EAR is one sweet sounding player, maybe too forgiving in the highs.

As to inverted polarity, I've written several times in these forums concerning recording polarities which can often be wrong, especially for multiple instruments.  These can be heard in many Mercury Living Presence recordings of pop engineered by Stan Ricker who I had several conversations with.   So, LPs can be way out of correct polarity.  I have Brasil 66 LPs where the first issue is in correct polarity and the second pressing is in 180 degree wrong polarity.

Also, CDs and digital recordings are not usually in incorrect polarity unless they were recorded that way or remastered incorrectly.  I have noticed some of my Heifetz/Piatagorsky CDs have reverse polarity on some tracks.  

Overall, most of my recordings have good polarity (correct rather than reversed) and have strong imaging, just like high end fuses by SR have a correct and incorrect polarity.

Let me cut to the chase. Here’s an excerpt from George Louis’ Polarity List that illustrates just how many cherished audiophile CDs AND AUDIOPHILE LABELS are in Reverse Polarity. Check it out. I’m not saying yea or nay.

R Reverse Polarity
N Non Inverting Polarity

1. Analogue Productions R
2. Analogue Productions – FI The Magazine of Music & Sound R
3. Antiles R
4. Archiv Produktion R
5. Ariola – Greenhouse Effect Plan B R
6. ASTREE AUVIDIS R
7. ATCO RECORDS – Bobby Darin – This is Darin R
8. ATLANTIC JAZZ – Cyrus Chestnut – The Dark Before the Dawn – R
9. AudioQuest – Robert Lucas – Layaway R
10. Audiostas ummy-Head-Recording (binaural) R
11. BEAST RETRO Concert Friday the 13th Cook County Jail R
12. Behringer A500 amplifier single ended RCA input R it’s balanced XLR input is non-inverting N
13. Big Cat Records – Mary Coughlan – After the Fall R
14. BIS R
15. BLACK LION – Cliff Jackson – Carolina Shout R
16. Blix Street Records R
17. Blue Note N
18. BLUE NOTE Music from EMI* – Patricia Barber – Live A Forthight in France R
19. BRC-JAM – Todd Coolman Trio – Tomorrows R
20. BROWNSTONE RECORDINGS – HARRY SKOLER – Conversations In The Languate Of Jazz R
21. Burmester – Art for the Ear – Volume II & III R
22. Café RECORDS –Moro – Pieces of And A collection of Romantic Music for Cuitar R
23. CAMELEON/BEACHWOOD RECORDS – Laurence Juber – Solo Flight R
24. Capri Records Ltd, NU – Drifting Timelessly R
25. Cascavelle – Duo De Harpes R
26. CBS Records (Associated) Hubert Laws: The Rite of Spring – R
27. Cedille Records R
28. CEMA SPECIAL PRODUCTS – 10 BEST SERIES – Peggy Lee – Fever & Other Hits R
29. Chesky R
30. Clarity Recordings R
31. Collectables

And,

1. London N
2. M*A R
3. M*A Recordings – Bruce Stark, piano – Dream song R
4. MAD-KAT Records – Kitty Margolis – Live at The Jazz Workshop R
5. Mapleshade N
6. Mark Levinson – Red Rose Music-– Volume one R
7. Maxell Studio Series headphones R
8. MCA GRP – Rob Wasserman (etc.) – Trios R
9. MCA Zebra* – David Grisman Acousticity R
10. Mercury Living Presence R
11. Mercury R
12. MHS Musical Herritage Society N
13. Milestone –The Kenny Drew, Jr. Trio – Winter Flower R
14. MOBILE FIDELITY MFSL (Polydor original R) – Eric Clapton Slowhand R
15. MOBILE FIDELITY SOUND LAB ORIGINAL MASTER RECORDING ULTRA DISC UHR GAIN 2 –(hybrid SACD) Patricia Baber – Café Blue R
16. MOBILE FIDELITY SOUND LAB ULTRA DISC II (original Verve – R) – Getz/Gilberto R
17. MOBILE FIDELITY ULTRA DISC II SAMPLER – (multiple original CDs) MP
18. Mode 26 (Records) R
19. MOTOWN – Diana Ross – Lady Sings the Blues R
20. MSFL Original Master Recording – Jim Hall – Concierto R
21. Music from BMI*- BLUE NOTE – Patricia Barber – Live a Fortnight in France R
22. MuSick – Evan foster – Instrumentals R
23. N Coded Music N
24. Naim – Charlie Haden & John Taylor R
25. Nakamichi Bridiging Adaptor BA-100 N
26. Narada R
27. Narada Collection Series R
28. Nature Recordings R
29. NAXOS R
30. NEC CD-730, CD-830D CD players N
31. NEW WORLD RECORDS R
32. Nimbus Records English Stsring Orchestra – Mendelssohn Complete String symphonies R
33. Nonesuch R
34. Nonesuch – Mandy Patnkin – Oscar & Steve R
35. NOVUS (BMG RCA) – Marcus Roberts – The Truth s Spoken Here R
36. Oppo BDP-95 CD, DVD, SACD, DVD-A, Blu-ray player R
37. Opus 3 R
38. Opus 3 – Depth of Image Test Record 1 R
39. Pablo N
40. Philips R
41. Philips digital Classics – Pepe romero – Noches de Espana R
42. PIERRE VERANY – Mamba Percussions R
43. POINT GEMA – Pasha – Christmas Music - Christmas Carols R
44. Polydor – Dick Annegarn R
45. Premonition Records – Patricia Barber – Café Blue (CD) R
46. Private Music- Leo Kottke – Regards From Chuck Pink R
47. Proprius R
48. Proprius – Jazz at the Pawnshop R
49. Proprius – Contate Domino R
50. PS Audio – DAC Link III R
51. PS Audio – PerfectWave DAC N
52. R ACCORD Duke Ellington – PLUS TIME 2 Great Concerts R
53. RCA BIEM/GEMA Made in the EU - Elvis Presley Such A Night N
54. RCA BIEM/GEMA Made in the EU - Elvis Presley Such A Night R both 156 and 157 have the same catalog and matrix numbers and yet are the opposite relative polarity which is something that I’m trying to understand.
55. RCA RED SEAL – Charles Munch BSO – Debussy – La Mer R
56. RCAVictor R
57. RCAVictor, The Chieftains – Tears of Stone R
58. RealTime Records – Real Hot Jazz R
59. Rearward/Schema N
60. Red House Records R
61. Reference Records R
62. Reprise N
63. Reprise – Joni Mitchell – Blue N
64. Rhino R
65. River North Records N

JAFANT,

I really love the older Mark Levinson 300 series stuff! My system consist of:

Mark Levinson No 32
Mark Levinson No 336
Mark Levinson No 31.5
Mark Levinson No 30.6
Transparent super, cabling.....

B&W 800 Diamonds.