Is the EMM DAC6e or DCC2 /CDSD the best out there?

Well I think the vinyl vs digital debate is really a dead issue...digital has made great advances and yet some still prefer vinyl and I respect that but so what at the some time. For me personally, I gave up vinyl long ago for convenience of playback, storage of software etc...and now added is the ability to burn, rip etc onto other portable deivices so I can have music for everywhere I go. Enuff said.

Okay, here was my final buy:
The contenders were Ayre CX-5, Esoteric UX-01, Sony ns999 in home theatre and the EMM labs combo.

The DCC-2 combo was most realistic, most holographic of them all, the Esoteric X-01 was very "metallic", not a great sound stager, I think there is some high frequency wierdness. The sony did not get much inner detail, it is not balanced (which the rest of my system is) and was not so lifelike. I like to evaluate with the sound of saxophones, trumpets and strings... the airiness of the sax, the "blatt" as they say of the trumpet, and the rich harmonics of the strings are things I am most attuned to.
The Ayre got better on warmup... but the combo of the Ayre with an Audio Research Ref 2 was not near as"lifelike" as the emm combo. I removed the ARC and a set of cables when using the EMM Labs... as I still have the Ayre, my next step is trying it as a transport. I also had a Wadia 861 in the system, very smooth, great inner detail, musical, but ultimately not as involving as the UX-01 or EMM Labs.

I started upgrading my system a year ago, and with the addition of the EMM Labs piece, I feel no need for upgrade (at least this month) A good byproduct for me is that some CDs that I found unlistenable with any of the other contenders are very listenable now. Which from a strict audiophile point of view may be bad, but from my point of view, being able to listen to my entire collection so far is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

The only thing I wish is that I had a chance for the new DCS piece to go head to head with the EMM Labs.

As part of this I compared Synergistic Designer Reference to harmonix magic woofer cables, absolutely no comparison. The Synergistic trounced them in every way but a slight loss in gain.. much more refined and extended in the top end.

Sorry Alex you're simply incorrect. The margin is narrowing but vinyl still rules. Maybe some day your digital players will equal my analog set up but not now.

Chrisla, was the UX-1 broken in? If it sounded distinctly metallic, it was likely not yet broken in. Furthermore, UX-1 is a musically compromised unit. It's brother, the X-01, should sound a lot better for music reproduction, with twice the DAC chips (4 per channel). Like the EMM, it does not support DVD nor video. Costs the same as UX-1. Will need approx 700 hrs of break in on redbook alone to sound correct. X-01 is extremely sensitive to PCs. . . and so is I suspect EMM. Try Shunyata Helix series Anaconda or Python on them. . . you may be in for a treat.

Once again I find myself wondering: how do people KNOW something? In this case how aplhifi knows that (his?)digital stacks up to "cost no object vinyl" (by which I'd assume he means the best?), or how stanhifi knows that aplhifi doesn't have a player that would beat stan's vinyl (which is?). I never cease to be amazed at comments without explicit clarification. I respond to these particular examples because they are so diametrically opposed. I wonder if either is willing to offer any "evidence" - or at least details of head to head controlled comparisons. Probably not, I imagine, thus leaving me (and everyone, I guess) with...hmmm...not very useful personal opinions from two people. Hmmm (again)...my opinion is that cassettes are far better than everything in the world : )