unfortunately there is no elephant in the room. and the system will continue as it is today because   1. the manufacturers are smart. a $100k speaker in their line will usually sound better the $50 k one. i am talking about the products from the same manufacturer. just like gumby is better...

check the tweets of computeraudiophile

  i spotted a theta gen V but the owner warned me there were additional known problems with the 230v european models and even theta acknowledged  it at the time. though he was not sure what it was. anyone in the know has any further details?

The esoteric k-01x and k-03x use them

It appears all the "VERY GOOD STUFF"  on page 1 had the benefit of a good DDC like the OR5 whereas the other stuff were driven from the stock USB inputs or the digital outs of consumer grade pc's. having first hand experience with a decent DDC (battery driven SOtM dx-USB HD), SPDIF is hands down...

Going to Tokyo next month. Any tips from locals as to where i can get the acoustic revive rtp-4 eu power strip will be much appreciated. This is the 220v European model. Thanks in advance

i now have the rattling noise  from the blue channel. i bought mine more than 6 months ago. will they replace the faulty unit without a copy of the original invoice? how is the customer service unit working?