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EMM Labs CDSD / DCC2 - Initial Listening Session

With only 48 hours of burn-in on these pieces, this review is hardly definitive- but here goes...

I think old Ed (Meitner) has hit the cover off the ball with this, his latest offering in CD/SACD playback equipment. The following comments are based on comparisons to my previous front-end: Meitnerized Philips SACD 1000, Meitner DAC6, Meitner Switchman II and apply to both SACD & CD playback.

The CDSD & DCC2 - compared to the previous Meitner rig---

-Much deeper soundstage, much more layered, as well, width about the same.
-Hall ambiance retrieval is vastly superior.
-Tonal and timbral qualities are unsurpassed in any digital gear I've experienced. Piano reproduction is absolutely stunningly good!! Acoustic guitar has the string interaction/wooden resonance of the real thing.
-There is a "Bloom" to instuments, even voice, that seems typically absent in digital playback. This quality is very "Analog" like.
-So far, I sense not even a suggestion of stridency or digital fatigue- It is just not there. This new gear is just plain musical. That word is overused- but there is no other word to better describe the overall experience. There is a natural seamlessness and natural bloom to the music, as a whole, which reminds me of a live performance within a live venue. All of the elements of that live experience seem reproduced faithfully by the CDSD & DCC2. This is no small feat. In quantitative terms I'd say the new gear is 25%-35% better, in every listening category (it is about the same in soudstage width), than the earlier 3 piece set-up I had.

As the new gear continues to burn-in there will certainly be changes and refinements, probably for the better, which I will try to keep track of. But so far- Ooh, La, La!!!

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT:
Kharma Midi Grand
Tenor 300 HP
Jena Labs Pathfinder
Shunyata Anaconda VX & VX Alpha
fbhifi
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I disagree with Brucegel. Given the overall message in this thread, I think buyers are very happy with what they are hearing with this combo and more importantly for me, they find it better than the DAC6/Phillips 1000 combo which I have heard.

Greater realism is the name of the game, including a realistic soundstage, great dynamics, and involving music. As might be noted from another thread, words like dark may fail us as we are discribing what we hear, but until we can post sounds, it is all we have.

What is "ego inflated, overpriced gear?" What Brucegel cannot or will not afford?
panorama
74 posts
 
Ditto's to tbg.
frankg
176 posts
 
Tvad. If you're ever in the Palm Springs area you're welcome to come by for a listen. Right now my system is in some transition but should be ready in about 3 weeks.
Frank Gortz
robm321
932 posts
 
Hifi nut, I hope you didn't run out and get the EMM based on all the hype. If you got that kinda money put it into a TT and you will get much better performance ;)
gladstone
296 posts
 
TBG: It's easy enough to affect a lofty sneer, thereby demonstrating your own superiority to other audiophiles. But what's wrong with a little enthusiasm, anyway? Tireguy is using a few terms that, for better or worse, are among those what we have to describe an evanescent quality. All he's guilty of, if he's guilty of anything, is ebullience. Since when is that a crime?
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