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

Alex; you will be welcome here any time it might work out.

as far as your generous suggestion; unfortunately my current setup for vinyl utilizes a pre-production darTZeel preamp with only BNC outputs operational. therefore i have no way to input the phono signal into a CD burner from my phono stage/pre. even if your burner had a RIAA chip that would accept the direct signal from the tt; that would miss the 'magic' that the darTZeel phono/pre is doing.

my own dart pre is due 'yesterday' (the hope is before the new year); it will have multiple outputs that will work fine.

i have not burned CD's from Lp's in the past; what level of A to D is sufficient? and is that level resident in your burner?

i am currently in the market for a standalone CD burner (focused on improving redbook, not on burning CD's from Lp's......why would i want to dumb-down my Lp's anyway?) and have read all the current buzz on the Reality Check and other approaches as well as different CDR's. i am looking for some clarity on which direction is best and then plan to jump into that.

in any case; i'm not sure the timing for CES will work with this scheme......but i am game for it however soon it can be worked out.

i do look forward to hearing your latest at CES.

Guidocorona..yup the UX-01 was broken, not so sure about the Ayre, though, it got better and better but still, just something very mechanical about it, which, in my experience is not like Ayre. My wonderful dealer, who did an "oops" when he sold me the UX-01, never got in another X-01 for me to try, so, oh well. It sure does look better than the Meitner in my opinion, but, gosh I just love the Meitner sound. Will try your recommendations on the shunyata.

Thanks

Elberoth 2: sure thing, guess we just have different priorites in what we are looking for, or its matter of system matching.

Chrisla: Many say the Ayre needs a lot of break-in.

King Kong vs Godzilla. Man that would worth selling tickets too. Everyone knows ,respects and enjoys Mike and his enviable quest towards the sonic Garden of Eden . His words are stepping stones for so many of us to follow as he is humble , careful in his suggestions and ariculates his wisdom with authority . Many are getting to know the fire breathing Alex Peychev as he unleashes an all out assault on the limitations of digital.Getting to know him is a study in perserverance and dedication . His genius is apparent . Sticks or stones , swords or knives , I am there for this one. Even Russell Crowe would don a suit of armor to sideline referee this . I flew out last weekend to Alex s home in California from South Carolina to spend 72 non stop hours listening to his all proprietary system . He is relentless in his enthusiasm and confidence and what I witnessed with my own ears was worthy of a paradiam shift in my perception of digital. His system must he heard to be believed in my opinion .On the other hand I have not yet flown out to hear Mikes so I cant say but will make it a priority in 06 if he is willing. Having Alex make the trip to Mikes with the NWO-1 for direct comparison to Mikes SOTA would be worthy of everyones interest. Maybe after the show in 06 we can get the two giants of Audio into the ring !!

Brainwater, so well put. Are you a gambling man willing to take wagers?? Any odds makers / bookies out there?