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I thought the Transporter could handle 24bit 96khz and 192Khz files though, whereas the SB3 was limited to 16bit 44.1khz? I could be wrong though, can anyone confirm or deny?

Transporter can only handle up to 24bit/96kHz. It's DAC can upsample to 192kHz.

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so with an external DAC that can handle 24bit 96khz, and some hi-rez music files it does offer a theoretically better sound potential than the SB3. Admittedly at a serious price difference.

the real beauty of TP is with the new firmware it can do 24/88 natively and not get decimated back to 44 like the SB3 and earlier TP firmwares.

I believe with more R/D TP can use its Xilinx FPGA to implement a 1024 tap FIR reconstruction filter and do all kinds of sophisticated post processing to improve sound.

Congrats on a great choice! You even have the SolidSteel rack I have! I am going to put the SB3 into place feeding the DCC2. I was thinking about it last night and seeing your thread reminded me.

Cheers, and enjoy the music!

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Do you mean NEW EMM Labs CDSD SE and DAC6E combo can be found around $11K ?


...

on AudioGon, some said Wadia 581SE and Esoteric are better than EMM's CD/SACD player CDSA SE, even DCC2/CDSD combo. At least for Red Book CDs.


On SACD, seems most people regard EMM gears are the best.



Do you EMM owner have similar impression?

I have not listened to Wadia critically. But I definitely prefer Emm Labs gear to all the Esoteric (stock) I have heard for redbook audio playback.

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No...2nd edition CDSD and DAC6e. No SE models.

You won't be able to get the latest & greatest (new German sourced transport/feet) SE models for 11K, but there are a few listings on the 'Gon for SE models near 11K.

I currently own a EMM Labs CDSD/DAC6 combo and a Esoteric X-03-SE.

EMM has a more pronounced and stronger bass. It is good, tight, musical (vs. bloated and single note sounding).
EMM is a very high resolving system but at the same time is capable of a very smooth sound while still being resolving.

Overall, I find the balance of these two systems is more alike than different. I think the EMM Labs that I have over the Esoteric that I have is slightly better in my system.

The Esoteric has better build quality.
The Esoteric will hold its value better.

It should be noted that my Esoteric is a player not a transport/DAC combo, while the EMM labs is the separates combo. I think a better comparison between the two would be the EMM Labs separates stuff (newest) vs. the Esoteric X-01-LTD.
Additionally, it should be noted that with the EMM Labs stuff I own, I would re-clock at the DAC. I have never tried re-clocking the Esoteric via the EMM labs to see if there was/is any impact.

The sound stages for both are excellent, focus, depth, height and width.

In the end, the perfect set-up in my mind may actually be the Esoteric transport (best transport mechanism available in my mind) mated to the EMM Labs DAC. Also, unless you plan to use the EMM Labs as your preamp, I would recommend considering the DAC 6e SE version (which should save you a couple of thousand) over the DCC2 SE.

I've just bit the bullet for a modded Esoteric UX-3. I have to hear for myself what this "source first" fuss is all about and hopefully a 'sneak-peak' at high-end audio. Plus it plays movies

Screw the L3000

^ makes sense as you already have an R10. i'm considering a source upgrade myself. looking at the CDSA SE or 306 Pro.

I think I can recommend the CDSA SE. However, I have not heard the cary. I have not compared my EMM to anything either so take it for what it's worth.

Anyone have a comparison between the Emm Labs CDSA SE vs the Esoteric X-01 LE? Those two are in my radar.