dcs Elgar/972

You will be hard pressed to get a better digital CD reproduction than this combination today. There is no processor out there, yet, that is as musical as the dcs combo upsampled to 192/24. You should have a listen to CEC TL-0 or the TL1-X transports. CEC's are also very musical and detailed. rgds, david k.

You might want to audition the Muse. The Model 8/296 combination is almost as good as the Elgar but the combo is about $7K, way cheaper then the dcs systems. Its hard to find places that have these systems. I live in the Denver area and all the good stereo stores doen't even know about upsampling and get it confused with the SACD and DVD-Audio wars.

Linn Ikemi is quite a fine CD player. Most people find it very close to the CD-12. You need exceptional electronics to appreciate significant differences. Point is: the ikemi can also be used as a transport, which it does quite well!! If I were you and had a linn system (therefore I assume you like the "Linn" sound) I would but the ikemi, and wait. Over time the format/conversion wars will end and an upgrade DAC will be musc cheaper, In the meantime you will have a really fine and enjoyable CD player.