Okay......best single box reference CD player

My System: EMT 928 (Re-plinthed), Dynavector 507 Mk.2, Dynavector DRT-XV1-S; Playback Designs MPS 5; DartZeel amp and pre-amp; Evolution Acoustics MM3.

I'm achieving a synergy with the above components that I've never had before.

Mapman: I do believe that the designer IS "doing something special or unique."
I'm sure you and many others are most interested in discovering exactly how Andreas approached this design. I rather doubt that he will be sharing his design secrets with the world any time soon.

"Wow. How does the Playback Designs accomplish what apparently other players cannot? What is the difference or new innovation in a technical sense? The designer must be doing something special or unique?"

the Playback Designs MPS-5 does all the obvious things right; a transformer instead of switching power supply, excellent analog output stage, a high quality Esoteric transport, and digital inputs for use as a server DAC. beyond that Andreas has somehow eliminated jitter both from the Esoteric transport and any digital input....and he has a totally custom designed, programable DAC.

it's the combination of all these elements which results in the performance. the hard part for the competition will be to compete with Andreas's digital design since it's proprietary; also meeting the price point with all the value.

Its weird that everybody who has an Evolution Acoustics speaker has a Darzteel amp. And everybody who has both has a Playback designs cd player.

I suppose synergy is above everything.

"the Playback Designs MPS-5 has a totally custom designed, programable DAC"

A programmable DAC sounds like a useful feature. Does that mean it can in practice be programmed to sound different case by case if needed/desired?

I'm curious if anyone knows how this feature is applied in practice and by which party, the vendor, user, or both?

Any other players out there that may have user programmable or configurable DACS?