Do you keep your EMM DAC 6e on?

whoa - sorry, frank! i am very impressed by the mods done by alex. i was afraid that it would alter the sound of an already incredible-sounding combo, but it just improved upon what it already did amazingly well. i did a comparison with my un-modded EMM Philips after the new one broke in and was really impressed by the improvements Alex's mods made. i haven't heard a CDSD, so i can't compare to that, but i'd be surprised if the CDSD were much of an improvement over this transport.

it's just too damn bad that i had %95 of my cds and one of my guitars stolen from my car a few weeks ago. it's kind of killed my desire to listen to music as of late. i know it sounds silly, but its really just temporarily destroyed my will. i've borrowed a few of my favorite cds from my brother, but just have no motivation. thieves suck, and their timing is amazing. right as i get the most satisfying cd-combo i've ever heard, they come.

Here it goes. I have been doing a lot of listening. Hands down a great SACD is much better than any CD on the EMM or on my Audio Aero. But here is the twist, I find that on 60% of CDs the Audio Aero sounds better (or different) than the EMM. I want to listen more, but so far in my system that is what me & a few musician friends have found. It is confusing me. Also I don't want to keep the Audio Aero. This hobby is already too expensive, but after listening to SACD I can't live without it.

Yes the EMM is more detailed with better bass, but the midrange is missing something compared to the Audio Aero. Maybe it is the tube coloration or something else that I like but it is definitely better with the 4 CDs I used for comparison purposes. More to follow.

Darren: Sorry I missed your call this evening. Got in late. Something seems amiss in your system. I would guess the p/c's on the dac and transport. I never even tried the supplied Kimber that came with the dac. I had good success with silent source and pure notes (older copper version). JTinn would probably recommend the Shunyata Anaconda VX and that might be best for what I think you're looking for. (Big bucks though). First why don't you put the Kimber back on the dac since it came with it and put the elrod on the Philips. Let it run for 2 or 3 hours and then see if that changed anything. If you have other cables try experimenting. Quite a few EMM owners are ex Audio Aero owners and the ones I know of, all like pcm better on the EMM gear. Also check all your connections (glass cables) and toggles to make sure your running it corectly.

I forgot to ask about your ic's. I don't know what you're using. Just seemes that something in your system isn't matching well with the EMM gear.

Frank,

Using the Elrod EPS-2S on the dac. I haven't tried playing with it but it is so much better than anything else I have used. The EMM does have better detail & bass. Just misses the Audio Aero presentation on CD. Interconnect are transparent ref w. mm. In SACD it is incredible. I would be done with the chase if SACD was the end. It is that good. CD is good sometimes better than the Audio Aero but more often not. I will be listening again tonight or tomorrow.

I am getting curious about the Reimyo. At least for the sake of comparison. I can't imagine it being better then the EMM in SACD vs CD. But it might better it in CD. It might be the tube output stage that is making the difference as well. That is what a lot of the new items hitting the market include if I am right. Aren't the APL, Remiyo & a few others are using tube output stages?

I will try to reach you today on the phone. I just ordered 100 SACDs