Bow Technologies zz8 drive, and Mac Mini with Pure Music / Core Audio Technololgies Kora power supply and level 3 Power filter, feeding a Brinkmann Zenith 3 dac via an Audiophilleo 2 USB reclocker. The Bow + Brinkmann combination is the closest thing I've heard to the liquid, free-flowing, natural feel of vinyl, without artificial extra "warmth" trying to pass for analogue sound. The upgraded Mac Mini sounds even better on some levels - bigger soundstage, incredible resolution, deeper bass and even more dynamics - but a tad less harmonically rich, probably a factor of it not being quite burnt-in yet. The Zenith operates in 16/44 which theoretically makes it a very outdated design - but as far as my ears are concerned it wiped the floor with a lot of high rez devices, including a Mark Levinson 24/96 DAC I had on loan for a while, and the - however excellent - built-in DAC in the Marantz UD 9004 I use in a separate HT room.
The only glitch is - the Zenith is basically impossible to find, especially in this version - which has been considerably upgraded by the ex-Brinkmann designer who came up with it in the first place and happens to be a friend. But put your hands on a used Bow zz8 and you will get very close already - the built-in DAC sounds a little less open than the brinkie but has a very definite analogue feel.
