The $40K question on front ends

Good question, but the level of analogue may have gone up to $85K+ with the arrival of the Caliburn, from Continuum Media Site !
My buddy has a Walker Procenium / Steelhead Pre which I use as a reference for voicing my modded CEC / Museatex front end with in my rig.
As far as the Esoteric sounding like true analogue, well that's my hope and goal too, you can get close and exceed in certain areas, but the easeful, relaxed, natural, explosive dynamics outta the black void is a hard bridge to cross sucessfully (once you heard it, you know for good)
I'm striving for real and natural.
Happy Holidays !!

Macallan25, take look at a thread I started, "Reference DACS: An overall perspective", that will give you much detailed information regarding the sonics/flavors of reference level digital front ends and which comes the closet to what your descrbing as an analog sonic signature.

Hello. Having heard these and others at shows i've been seriously unimpressed with digital. And as for spending all that money, i heard a $100,000 rig (the front end was a Denson $50,000 cd spinner) murder the live Eagles hotel california. The owner raved about it. I was gutted. On my system with my $3,000 cd player it's sensational. The digital problem is simple. remove large amounts of info above below and in the middle, and then try and do things to get it back when you cant. In the end can you hear whether its a 9' Steinway or an upright like my aunties? I've just spent good money on a Taylor 314CE guitar, and am not playing it till i've changed it to a particular type of string that makes it sing. I'm listening to my Lenco Gl75 modded and replinthed which sounds mightily close to the Walker Procenium, OLSilver arm, Denon DL103 cart, Fi phono, Tube technology pre, home made SET monoblocks, into Quad ESL 57's repannelled by One Thing and its good!In this little room! with these beautifully recorded and pressed Jazz LP's. My total system cost under $3,000, and there's not in my opinion a digital front end at any price that can really come close. Sorry if this is a bit of a rant and if its off subject, and sometimes my cd's sound pretty good.... i just dont seem to listen to them any more. I get fed up with aunties piano too, but my girlfreind's brother's concert grand steinway, that's another story....